Zero Tolerance
by Diane Long
Summary: Zero's merger with Ryoko puts an unexpected chain of events into motion.
1. Ice

Zero Tolerance  
  
  
By Diane Long  
  
AN: The clip of the third OVA, with yet another girl to compete for Tenchi, really torked me off, so I had to write a Ryoko-centric fic to make myself feel better. I hope you enjoy it too. Also, I want to thank Entry Plug for his inspiration for this opening scene. I had always thought the night in the lab was a horror, and his rendering of it inspired my own take.  
  
  
Chapter One: Ice  
  
  
  
Cold.  
  
It was so fucking cold.  
  
Suspended in the frigid darkness, Ryoko willed her body to shiver, trying to generate some heat. Despite her force of will, nothing happened. She had been hanging there too long and her body was too cold and stiff to respond. Her arms were held out from her shoulders by metallic claws, stretched past her elbows' abilities to stay loose and flexed. Her whole upper body burned with lactic acid from over-extension.   
  
The darkened room was without heat and her tiny red tank top provided her body no protection. The rest of her was naked, except for a silver ring hovering around her hips, its gadgetry effectively nullifying her powers. Below the ring, her legs, pricked over with bumps of goose flesh, hung limply, adding to the strain on her lower back.  
  
She hurt. She could handle hurting though. She had been hurting in one way or another for as long as she could remember. But the cold and the dark were eating at her, making the pain worse and if that wasn't enough, the silence was driving her out of her mind.  
  
There wasn't anyone to help her. She was forsaken. Again.  
  
Heaving in a desperate breath she tightened her weary vocal cords and screamed. The cry bounced off the hard edges of the lab in a long series of echoes before dying away completely.   
  
There was no reply.  
  
Ryoko's head tipped forward as she fell into a series of dry sobs. "Please, please, please," she begged. "I'll be good."  
  
Those were words she had once used with Kagato, when his punishments seemed to surpass her ability to withstand them. Sometimes it worked with him and he would show some modicum of mercy. Why wouldn't it work with Washu? Hadn't Kagato learned everything from his former teacher?  
  
No sooner than she made the comparison between her two tormentors, the shackles around her wrists sprung free. Shocked and exhausted, Ryoko dropped to the floor, the metal ring around her waist clanging terribly as she fell against it.  
  
She lay there for a moment, dazed and not quite comprehending her freedom. The hard concrete of the floor was even colder than the air had been against her bare body. Using all of her concentration, she summoned the first warm garment that came to mind: A copy of Ayeka's winter coat. As it appeared over her, she huddled in its warm confines as she tried to make sense of her situation.  
  
She was having a difficult time keeping the present and her past memories from blurring together. Kagato had taken her…. No…. Washu had trapped her. Washu had lied about why she wanted Ryoko in the lab, and then proceeded to run test after test on her…. Or was it just more punishment from Kagato? No, it had been Washu this time. Washu had forgotten to let her go, and had left for the night. Washu had treated her like a stupid, forgettable, experiment. Just like Kagato used to do.  
  
Struggling to her hands and knees, Ryoko crawled out of the metal ring, and began to creep towards the door that would release her back into the Masaki living room. A reject. A thing. That's all she was to Washu and Kagato.  
  
Was that all she was period? Could two such smart people be wrong?  
  
Reaching the door Ryoko pushed through and was momentarily blinded by bright sunlight. She used her hands to block the light from her eyes, and still being on her knees she lost her balance and tipped forward onto her face, smashing her nose against the hardwood floor.  
  
"Ryoko, are you okay?" asked Sasami's sweet voice.  
  
"Is that my coat? What are you doing wearing my coat?" demand Ayeka's rather nasal voice.  
  
Pushing up on arms trembling with fatigue, Ryoko tried to make eye contact with Ayeka and give her a saucy grin to cover up her weakened state. All she managed to do was drool and roll an eye back into its socket for a moment. Nothing seemed to be working right. The crawl out of the lab must have used the last of her energy reserves.  
  
As she lay there exhausted, Ryoko watched a worried Sasami in her carrot apron lay down her soup ladle on the kitchen table and Ayeka slowly rising from her seat, her look of annoyance shifting to one of concern.  
  
"R-ryoko?" Ayeka asked. "What happened to you?"   
  
"Good morning, everyone!" Tenchi said, his voice coming ahead of him as he came down the stairs. "What's for…" he paused as he saw the strange tableau before him. "Hey, what's going on?"  
  
"Tenchi! Big brother! Something is wrong with Ryoko," Sasami cried out rushing to Tenchi's side.  
  
"Yes," Ayeka added quietly, moving to join them. "But we do not yet know what has happened."  
  
Tenchi approached Ryoko slowly with Sasami timidly trailing him. "Ryoko? You okay?" He paused a few feet from her, worried lines appearing on his brow.  
  
The thin line of drool still trailing down her chin, Ryoko attempted to speak to reply, but only managed to croak out something not understandable.  
  
"What was that?" Tenchi asked, edging closer.  
  
She tried again. "I'm fine," she said, in a cracked parody of her usual voice.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," Ayeka chastised. "You are in terrible shape." She crossed her arms, looking regal and cross in her violet robes.  
  
Tenchi squatted near Ryoko's head and offered her his hand, but Ryoko's limited attention was focused on Ayeka.  
  
Ryoko frowned up at her friend and rival, who seemed to be shifting between her normal self and an image of her father, the emperor of Jurai. "A- Ayeka?" she asked in a rusty sounding voice. Ryoko squinted and shook her head to clear her vision. That seemed to help the shadows of Asuza fade away.  
  
Ryoko was again trying to right herself into a seated position, when a small, house-slippered foot connected with her head and knocked her flat again.  
  
"Ooops!" Washu said brightly, stepping over her prone daughter. "I didn't see you moving there!" She sniffed appreciatively as the lab door clicked shut behind her. "Breakfast smells great!"  
  
Ryoko groaned and made no attempt to rise.  
  
Tenchi, Ayeka and Sasami turned suspicious eyes onto the short scientist.  
  
"What?" she asked looking severe in her formal Galaxy Academy uniform.  
  
"What did you do to Ryoko, Ms. Washu?" Ayeka asked in a tone that had caused nobles to flinch. "She may be nothing but trouble, but that gives you no right to harm her."  
  
Washu just blinked. "That's LITTLE Washu, if you please."  
  
"Just answer her question," Tenchi bit off, showing more anger than he would usually reveal to his guests.  
  
Washu looked down at Ryoko lying under her. "I was just doing a few maintenance checks. Nothing major, really. Right little Ryoko?"  
  
Not looking up, Ryoko dully whispered, "Right," as a shiver trembled through her body. It didn't do to disagree with Kagato. She squinted. No that was Washu, not Kagato.  
  
"You're cold!" Tenchi exclaimed, running to the TV area to grab a blanket.  
  
"Of course she is. I had to test her imperviousness to temperature last night. She made a new tolerance record… almost thirty degrees Kelvin," Washu boasted.  
  
Tenchi knelt down on one knee at Ryoko's side, wrapping a plaid polar fleece throw around her. "That's terrible!"  
  
"No, it's good news. It means her powers are evolving, just like I had hoped," Washu clarified.  
  
Tenchi gently chafed Ryoko's arms through the blanket. "I meant it was a terrible thing to do to a person! What if she gets sick?"  
  
Washu rolled her eyes with a negating flick of her hair. "Ryoko doesn't get sick. She is tougher than a cockroach."  
  
"But she suffers!" Sasami said in a wounded voice. "She feels pain. She is feeling pain right now. Can't you see it?"  
  
Washu blew her bangs out of her eyes in annoyance. "Hey, why is everybody picking on me? Ryoko doesn't mind, do you, Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko pushed her face into Tenchi's chest. "Whatever," she mumbled, hoping her tormenter would just be quiet and let Yosho end her suffering forever. She closed her eyes and waited for the final blow. No it was Tenchi holding her, and they were not fighting.  
  
"It looks like she minds to me," Ayeka murmured with disapproval.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do with my number one creation! I am Washu! I am The Greatest Scientific Genius In The Universe!" Washu said hotly and moved forward as if to take Ryoko from Tenchi.  
  
Ryoko flinched at the word 'creation'. Kagato only thought of her as a big toy. Something he owned and could tinker with at will. As much as she wanted to be a person, Washu always found a way to remind her that she really wasn't one. Washu wasn't so different from Kagato, really.  
  
Having felt the movement under his warming hands, Tenchi regarded Washu sadly. "Creation? What about your daughter?" he asked, shifting so that Ryoko was out of Washu's immediate reach.  
  
"Daughter, creation, what's the difference? I made her either way."  
  
"It makes a huge difference!" Sasami yelped. "Ryoko has feelings!" She ran over to her fallen friend and dropped to her knees. "I love Ryoko and seeing her hurt like this is terrible!" Sasami threw an arm over Ryoko's shoulders and squeezed tightly.  
  
"I just need to … to … sleep," Ryoko rasped with obvious difficulty. Somehow Sasami seemed to be sitting right there beside her, yet at the same time she seemed to be falling from a great height amongst the royal space trees. What was going on?  
  
"Where? You don't even have a bed Ryoko!" Sasami shouted, getting worked up.  
  
"No bed?" Tenchi asked, sheepishly. "I didn't realize."  
  
"She can use my futon Sasami," Ayeka said briskly. "With both of our blankets. That should warm her up."  
  
"I'll just take her back to the lab. Hand her over," Washu ordered.  
  
"I don't think so," Tenchi said, eliciting a glare from the red head.  
  
Sasami moved away as Tenchi slid his arms under Ryoko's body. Ryoko grunted as Tenchi lifted her into his arms, leaving the plaid blanket behind on the floor.  
  
Washu watched, grinding her teeth as Ryoko's friends unconsciously formed a protective barrier between her and her mother.  
  
"Ready for bed?" he asked heading towards the staircase.  
  
Ryoko nodded as they began to ascend the stairs.  
  
Washu huffed in annoyance, throwing up her hands. "Fine, take the crazy girl, but what about breakfast?" she whined at their backs. "I'm hungry!"  
  
Sasami turned around, her normally sweet lips pulled back into an angry pout. She opened her mouth, but stayed her words when she felt Ayeka's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Let me." Ayeka turned her attention to Washu. "Perhaps your energies would be better applied in planning how to apologize to Miss Ryoko."  
  
"Apologize?" Washu stuttered. "For what?"  
  
***  
  
Ayeka carefully pulled the curtains closed so that the small bedroom was shielded from the early morning sunshine.  
  
"Okay, the futon's ready!" Sasami said holding back the sheets so Tenchi could lower Ryoko inside the nest of warmth.  
  
"Would you like to borrow a night gown instead of that heavy coat?" Ayeka asked.  
  
Tenchi paused as Ryoko shook her head 'no', then he carefully laid Ryoko in the bed. Sasami pulled the covers over her friend as Ayeka heaped on more blankets. Ryoko immediately curled to her side, facing away from her friends as she snuggled into the blankets. Tenchi looked at Ayeka for guidance. He had no idea what to do next. He didn't really want to leave, but he thought he knew Ryoko well enough to know that she would rather be alone while she recovered.  
  
"Are you warm enough, Miss Ryoko?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"Mmm-hmm."  
  
Sasami delicately touched Ryoko's shoulder. "Do you want to sleep now, Ryoko?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes," Ryoko returned, her voice sounding painful.  
  
"I'll make some tea for your throat when you wake up," the youngster promised.  
  
Ryoko hunched her shoulders in what might have been an attempt at a nod or a shrug.  
  
"Okay, Sasami, let's go," Ayeka said taking her sister's hand and leading her out of the room.  
  
Still reluctant to leave, Tenchi hovered by Ryoko's side.  
  
"Come along, Lord Tenchi. We can check on her again later," Ayeka prompted.  
  
Nodding, Tenchi joined them. "See you later, Ryoko," he said wondering if she was still awake.  
  
As the trio walked somberly down the stairs, Sasami tilted her head and looked up at her older sister. "Ayeka, what do you think is wrong with Ryoko's voice?"  
  
Ayeka bit her lip and was silent.   
  
"Ayeka?" Sasami asked again.  
  
Tenchi noted the TV set as they came back onto the first floor landing and it gave him an idea. "You know how we get all excited when we watch American football on the TV?"  
  
Sasami nodded.  
  
"Well, the last time my favorite team played I yelled so much that I almost lost my voice. Remember?"  
  
Sasami tilted her head to one side, clearly not getting the connection.  
  
"Yes, Lord Tenchi was hoarse for a few days after that game," Ayeka added. "That is what happened to Ryoko."  
  
"But why would she need to yell so much?" Sasami asked innocently.  
  
Tenchi winced, not wanting to explain the tortures he thought that Washu was capable of performing on any 'guinea pig' she could get her hands on.  
  
"Well," Ayeka began as they gathered by the base of the staircase.  
  
"That's what I want to know," Washu snapped, saving them from having to answer. "I just had her hanging there. You'd have thought I had forgotten about her or something," she said getting up from the couch.  
  
A perplexed frown tugged at Tenchi's features. "Did you?" He wondered what had gone on that would leave someone as strong as Ryoko in such a state.  
  
"Of course not. I had a reason for what I did."  
  
"What was it Washu?" Sasami asked tremulously, gripping her hands before her waist.  
  
Washu sighed. "Not that this is any of your business, I had two questions I needed to answer. One was just how much of my daughter was left after Kagato got through with her and Two, how much of that was a re-boot from her assimilation with Zero."  
  
Stunned by Washu's sudden seriousness the others watched in silence as Washu toyed with the pom-poms on her Galaxy Academy uniform.  
  
"Look, I know I haven't known you all very long," Washu began. "It has only been a few months since Mihoshi bumbled her way into my prison and released me." She walked over to the sliding glass door and looked out over the lake. "And I know what you think of me, too."  
  
"Miss Washu," Ayeka soothed, ever the diplomat.  
  
Washu raised a hand to ward off the words. "Stop. You all think, at best, that I'm a little mad. At worst, you think I'm something of a socio-path just itching to get my hands on you."  
  
Tenchi nodded slightly at the small genius. That was exactly what he thought most days and right now he was not inclined to be charitable.  
  
Ayeka's features became neutral as she hid her own opinion, letting silence speak for her.  
  
"I can't say that I blame you, with the way I've been acting," Washu said with a half-smile. "You don't have any other data about me."  
  
"Washu, I've never thought you were a bad person," Sasami said gently. "Just hurt."  
  
A real smile formed on Washu's lips for the merest of moments before it was swallowed up by her melancholy. "Ah, yes, but you've had Tsunami's help to see the truth, no?"  
  
A faint blush dotted the high bones of Sasami's cheeks. "Yes, she has told me a few things."  
  
Washu laughed, but it wasn't a sound of mirth. "Well, what's a secret when you have a goddess sharing your home? No offense Sasami." She shook her head, and placed her hands on her hips. "Let me tell you this: I love my daughter, but the Ryoko you all know is barely a shadow of what she was before. I've spent almost every waking hour since my release trying to understand what has happened to her and how to help her heal from the trauma her mind has been through."  
  
"You mean, Kagato, right?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"You say that devil's name so casually. Like Ryoko's problems with him were no more than that of child going to see an unskilled dentist," Washu complained.  
  
"I know what that man did," Ayeka said darkly.  
  
"No you don't!" Washu shot back. "You just know, rather second hand I might add, about the destruction of royal gardens and space fleets. You have no idea what he was like with a fragile life at his mercy, when he was all alone, secure, and with all the time in the universe!"  
  
"Washu, you don't have to tell us this," Tenchi placated. "We know that Ryoko suffered under his control." How many nights had he heard Ryoko waking up from screaming nightmares?  
  
Washu marched over to Tenchi and jabbed a bony finger into his chest. "Suffer? That's what happens when you eat too many sweets, you stupid child!" Washu spat. "For 5,000 years I watched Ryoko die second by second. The things I saw everyday would make you pass out."  
  
"Sasami, go to your room." Ayeka ordered before her sister could be subjected to tales of horrific tortures.  
  
"But!" the little princess protested. "I…."  
  
"Now," Ayeka growled pointing at the staircase.  
  
"She already knows," Washu put in sadly. "I don't know what possessed Tsunami to show her the gory details, but little Sasami knows everything. I'm guessing that is why she is always so kind to my Ryoko."  
  
Sasami's mask of sweet innocence slipped a little and her eyes took on a haunted sheen. "Yes, I know. He tried to destroy her body and mind in every way, just to see what it would take to ruin her. It was a game to him."  
  
Tenchi watched the exchange closely. Sasami seemed different somehow.  
  
Washu took up the thread, "And when he could not do her in completely, he understood that he had the perfect weapon in his hands. At that point, his torments became more focused, as he tried to shape her into a form most useful to him."  
  
Sasami walked to Washu's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "As much as he twisted her mind, seeds of her true-self always remained, though they lessened with each millennia," she said in a voice that had turned deeper and more musical than usual.  
  
Tenchi leaned forward. Yes, Sasami was different. Her voice, the words she used even her posture had changed.  
  
Too caught up in the debate to notice any changes, Washu nodded. "By the time Yosho imprisoned her, there was hardly anything left to salvage."  
  
"We all know that Tsunami moved through Yosho to save Ryoko," Sasami said. "But because her spirit was almost gone, it has been very difficult for Ryoko to cope with living a normal life. She is re-growing her self, but the process is slow." As Sasami spoke she seemed to grow more mature and sorrowful.  
  
Tenchi caught Ayeka's eye and the princess nodded to indicate she was seeing the changes too.  
  
Washu flipped her hair, looking piqued. "If you had told me all of this, I might have been able to avoid last night's research."  
  
A faint, blue mist surrounded the little princess. "Do you really believe that?" she asked in words laced with the presence of another.  
  
Washu paused. "Tsunami."  
  
"Yes, it is I, and I ask you again: Could you have avoided last night?"  
  
"No." It was a whisper, barely heard.  
  
"And did you find out what you needed to know?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Tsunami?" Tenchi asked. "What's going on?"  
  
Tsunami, wearing Sasami's body, turned her attention to Tenchi, an ethereal radiance outlining her form. "Somehow Dr. Clay's creation, Zero, managed to duplicate a copy of Ryoko's original neural net along with her current memories. By original I mean the healthy personality that existed before Kagato. Correct Washu?"  
  
Washu nodded, her eyes narrow with some disappointment.  
  
Tsunami turned a grave face to Washu. "When Washu merged Zero with Ryoko she was really replacing Ryoko's damaged mind sectors with portions of the copy. Last night, when she was checking to see how the repaired net was faring she made a frightening discovery."  
  
Tenchi shivered. What was wrong with Ryoko?  
  
Washu slid her arms around her torso and hugged herself. "Yes, it's true. Ryoko's old damaged systems were overriding the back-ups, threatening to erase it completely."  
  
Tsunami lowered her gaze. "And that was the only copy?" she prompted.  
  
"Yes, Zero managed to perform a minor miracle in finding that back-up, it was an event beyond my wildest hopes. I was thrilled to give that back to my little Ryoko. And then it DIDN'T WORK!" Tears beaded along Washu's lashes as she released her hold on herself and balled her hands into tight fists. "Ryoko's only chance at knowing her true self was slipping away. I didn't have time to come up with an elegant solution, it had to be brute force or nothing."  
  
Washu sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands. "I had to subject her body to almost absolute zero temperatures to shut down her Cartesian interface. It was the only way to stop the deterioration of the back-up. Then as I was expunging her faulty network sectors she –she…" Washu stumbled over her words as tears began slipping through her fingers. "She began reliving everything I was deleting… and screaming." Washu groaned. "She was in such torment, but I couldn't stop until the process was complete or she would have had no mind left at all!"  
  
Tsunami carefully folded her knees under her and hugged Washu. "You had to do it, my sister."  
  
Washu didn't hear her. "After all the amends I wanted to make, I ended up being worse than him! I hurt my little Ryoko! And for what? It didn't work in the end. The back-up couldn't hold out against the strength of Ryoko's current neural net. Now she will hate me more than ever! Or worse, she won't be able to tell the past from the present!"  
  
"Sometimes the failures of complex systems have unexpected results. Have faith," Tsunami said.  
  
"With all respect, what do you mean Tsunami?" Ayeka asked with a reverential bow of her head.  
  
The goddess peeking out of a youngster's eyes smiled beatifically. "You will discover my meaning very shortly."   
  
With that the magic was gone and a stunned Sasami blinked at her friends and sister. "Wow."  
  
"Sasami are you okay?" Ayeka asked nervously, rushing over to peer closely at Sasami's face. "That was very strange."  
  
"I'm fine sister, and Washu…!" The child exclaimed happily. "I'm so happy for you!"  
  
"What?" Washu asked, raising her head and wiping at her eyes.  
  
"Mom?" asked a squeaky, yet undamaged voice that was a cutesy styling of Ryoko's rich tenor.  
  
All heads snapped to the staircase where a much shorter Ryoko was paused three steps from the bottom. She stared around in confusion, dwarfed by the folds of Ayeka's coat.  
  
"Mom, where are we?" she asked in the same little voice.  
  
Washu slowly got to her feet and took a hesitant step towards her daughter. "Little Ryoko?"  
  
The little girl's eyes traveled the room and lingered for a moment on each face before staring fixedly at Washu. "Mommy? Who are all of these people?"  
  
  
To be continued!  
  
More Notes: Yeah, yeah I'm getting redundant in my old age. Many of my stories focus on Ryoko's past, her memories, her childhood and her relationship with Washu. This story has many things in common with "Little Ryoko", my first Tenchi story, but it soon takes off in a different direction. So if you aren't sick of me yet, please hang in for the ride! As always, please email me at shire@one.net with any feedback. Many thanks, hugs, and kisses go out to my friends who helped me on this one. 


	2. Little Girls

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
  
Chapter Two: Little Girls  
  
Light was always abundant in the Masaki home unless the drapes and shades were tightly drawn. Noboyuki had carefully crafted the spaces of his home to be open and bright. On this morning dust motes danced in a beam of light that angled down the stairwell from a window on the upper floor. The light glittered across the surface of a pair of eyes so yellow they seemed golden. The owner of the eyes, a young girl, barely taller than Sasami, blinked against the intensity of the light and moved a step lower on the staircase so the sun highlighted the pale aqua of her hair instead. She tripped over the long hem of the over-large coat she wore and came down a further step, pausing one step above the landing.  
  
"Mom!" she said urgently, clearly uncomfortable with the way everyone was staring at her. The repetition of her high pitched voice just caused them to look even closer, making her frown.  
  
Washu gasped and took another hesitant step forward. "Can it be?" She paused and took a deep breath while smoothing down the front of her uniform. "Ryoko how old are you?"  
  
The youngster tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow. "Wh- what?"  
  
"Just answer please," Washu said gripping her fingers in her tunic's hem.  
  
"Sixteen. Like I was yesterday," Ryoko said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
Washu gave a giddy laugh. "Where are we?"  
  
Ryoko looked around her unfamiliar surroundings. "Todain… I think. Did you move us again when I was asleep?" Despite her obvious uncertainty, the last was said with an undertone of annoyance.  
  
Washu shuffled forward, her hands now clasped under her chin. "Who do you hate most in the entire galaxy?"  
  
"Huh? Have you been experimenting on yourself again?" Ryoko asked dubiously, taking a step back up the stairs.  
  
"MY RYOKO!" Washu sang out, dashing forward to hug her hapless offspring in a tight embrace. Washu buried her head in the soft spikes of Ryoko's hair and began to rock her back and forth. Her shoulders quaked as she breathed in great sobs of breath.  
  
"Mom!" Ryoko choked. "I can't breathe!" She wiggled, trying to fight her way out of her mother's arms.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Washu let go. She took one of Ryoko's hands into both of her own and turned to face the group her eyes fiercely bright. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to the real Ryoko."  
  
"Oh mom, you are so weird," Ryoko said, trying to unsuccessfully to free her hand from Washu's grip. "Um… hi everyone."  
  
Tenchi stepped forward, his mouth hanging ajar. "What's going on?" He looked down into the young girl's eyes. "Don't you remember us Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko's free hand fluttered to her forehead and she frowned. "Should I?"  
  
Washu caught Tenchi's eye. "Don't upset her," she said dangerously. "It seems that the back-up copy took precedence, but her memories dating after the copy were lost."  
  
"My memories were lost?" Ryoko asked in confusion. "But I remember everything… until I woke up this morning. Then everything was different. What's happening to me?" She turned frightened eyes to Washu.  
  
"Don't worry, I will fix everything," Washu promised, giving Ryoko's hand a light squeeze.  
  
"You always fix everything," Ryoko said, her tension easing. "Please, tell me what happened?"  
  
"That's a long story honey, and I promise I will tell you all about it later. Right now, you need to meet your new friends," Washu said tugging her forward and down the rest of the stairs.  
  
Ryoko opened her mouth to protest, but obediently remained silent and followed Washu into the living room. Her docility made three sets of eyes widen even further. Washu just smiled fondly.  
  
Washu motioned to Tenchi. "This young man is Tenchi Masaki and this is his house."  
  
"Hi," Ryoko said politely, with no real reaction. "Thanks for letting us stay in your house. I guess I was asleep when Mom teleported us in."  
  
"Hi, Ryoko," he said rather desperately, seeming to peer into her eyes as if he were searching for something.  
  
Ryoko wrinkled nose as he continued to stare at her until her mother gestured to Ayeka.  
  
"This is Ayeka Jurai, Princess of Jurai," Washu said as she indicated Ayeka with a sweep on her hand.  
  
"A real princess, honest?" Ryoko said in awe, her eyes reflecting stars. "And I love your hair. Purple is my favorite color!"  
  
"My goodness," Ayeka said, taken aback. "What a nice young lady you are!"  
  
"Thank you princess," Ryoko said with a little bow.  
  
Ayeka returned the gesture, surprise and pleasure playing across her face.  
  
"And this young lady is Ayeka's little sister, Sasami," Washu said, ending the introductions. "The rest you can meet later."  
  
Ryoko sparkled at the young girl, looking her directly in the eyes being similar to her in height. "Another princess! You're really cute!"  
  
Sasami reflected the glow. "Thanks so are you! We look like we are the same age! I'm sure we will be good friends!"  
  
Ryoko flushed prettily. "I'm older than I look. I'm 16. It's just that my body won't grow right now."  
  
"That's okay," Sasami said with sincerity. "We can still be friends!"  
  
"Great!" Ryoko said then let lose a large yawn which she covered with the splayed fingers of a hand. "Excuse me." Looking as if she might need a few hours more sleep, she turned to Washu. "Now mom, are you going to explain what's going on or what?"  
  
Washu clucked her tongue. "Not with you yawning like that. Go back to bed and we will take care of everything later." She put up a hand as Ryoko began to protest. "Just do it."  
  
To everyone's continued amazement the sleepy little Ryoko followed Washu's instructions without a fuss.  
  
  
***  
  
Tenchi took of his muddy boots by the front door and eased his tired feet into a soft pair of slippers. He had gotten up extra early this morning to work out his confusion by hoeing the carrot patch. Yesterday's events were bizarre, even by the standards of the crazy people who shared his home. Not only had Ryoko's current memories been lost, but her childhood memories had been restored to her. Even more amazing, she had been restored to the body she had worn at the age of 16.   
  
Washu had explained that the Masu components that made up Ryoko's body were very sensitive to psychic impulses. Since Ryoko's mind thought her body should be as it was when she was16, the MASU conformed to that imperative. She had apparently been rather short. It was odd to see his willful, swaggering friend with such a little body and a squeaky voice.  
  
After her shocking change had been revealed, Ryoko had gone to bed and slept through the entire day and night. Again, Washu had explained that the stress of all of the changes had worn Ryoko's body out. She had said not to worry, but how could he not worry?  
  
Where was Ryoko? This little girl was not his best friend. Heck, she didn't even remember him. Where was that confident woman whose voice tempted his resolve even more than her body? Where did she go?  
  
Washu was happy and everyone seemed to catch her wave. While Ryoko had slept through yesterday everyone had made plans about the fun things they could do with such a sweet little girl. Even his father, who had discovered the news via the telephone, wanted in on a trip to the Tokyo zoo. It was amazing how easily they had forgotten the true Ryoko. No, it was scary. He would not forget. Never.  
  
As Tenchi stepped up into the living room, he heard the light sound of small feet dancing down the stair case and the tell-tale squeak of Ryoko's voice. She was up again it seemed. With a deep breath of resolve, Tenchi walked over to greet her, but was cut off by his grandfather.  
  
"So, you are little Ryoko," Yosho said with warm welcome as he bent forward at the waist and looked leaned his hands on his knees. "My name is Yosho and I am the keeper of the Masaki Shrine."  
  
Ryoko bowed her pale gray GA student's uniform creaking as if it had been over starched. "Nice to meet you, sir." Her eyes sparkled and she seemed to vibrate with energy and enthusiasm. All of yesterday's lethargy was long gone.  
  
"Oh, no need to be so formal. You can call me grandfather," Yosho encouraged, straightening up and placing a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Really?" Ryoko asked, looking up at him with awe. "But, you are a holy man… I couldn't!"  
  
"Really you can!" Sasami called as she set the table for breakfast. "That's what Ayeka and I call him."  
  
Ryoko looked over to Sasami's encouraging smile. "Honestly?"  
  
Ayeka joined her sister and placed a pot of hot tea on the table before sitting down to pour herself a cup. "Yes, dear, that's what we all call him," she said with a nod.  
  
Ryoko flushed and turned her attention back to Yosho as she toyed with the white pom-pom on her belt. "Oh, if Ayeka does it, and Sasami too, I guess it's okay then!" Ryoko giggled. "Thank you, grandfather!"  
  
"You are welcome, kodomo. Tell me, why are you wearing that uniform? Are you going to school?" Yosho asked.  
  
Ryoko's posture straightened with pride. "It's the GA student uniform, its just like my mom's only it's grey and I only get one pom-pom on my belt. As for school, everyday is a school day."  
  
Yosho chuckled. "With your mother, I am not surprised at that."  
  
Tenchi wasn't really surprised either. He had always known that Ryoko was smart, but respected her privacy by not making a big deal out of it. Ryoko, as he had known her, wanted to put as much distance as possible between herself and her mother. This Ryoko was almost a carbon copy of Washu, height and all. Change the colors and they would be the same. Then it struck him. That cute voice that Washu insisted on using…. Was that voice an intentional mimic of little Ryoko's voice?  
  
"Ohhhh! Look at that cute little girl!" Mihoshi chirruped as she sailed into the room her blond curls bouncing in her wake. "Why I've never seen anything quite so cute!"  
  
"Um, grandfather?" Ryoko asked ducking behind Yosho as Mihoshi moved in for a hug attack.  
  
Not daunted, Mihoshi looked around Yosho and grinned. "Are you Ryoko's illegitimate daughter?"  
  
Tenchi snickered at the interaction, despite his earlier deep thoughts. Mihoshi had been out yesterday, so she had no preparation for this encounter, not that it would have helped.  
  
"What?" Ryoko asked incredulously, taking a step back from the gaga officer. "How can I be my own daughter?"  
  
"I knew that Ryoko would be a great mom someday!" Mihoshi proclaimed, her eyes aglow.  
  
Yosho intercepted Mihoshi as she swooped in for another hug attempt. "Miss Mihoshi, allow me to explain."  
  
"What's to explain? Ryoko drank too much and got pregnant. You know how that happens, don't you?" Mihoshi pronounced.  
  
"What?!" Ryoko squeaked.  
  
"That is not appropriate talk for children," Yosho said with a frown as he released his hold on Mihoshi and covered Ryoko's ears.  
  
Ryoko tried to pry his fingers off, but his hold was steady. "Hey, I know about that stuff!"  
  
"What's so wrong about the stork bringing babies out of the cabbage patch?" Mihoshi asked, on the verge of tears. "It's a beautiful fact of life!"  
  
"No, the male DNA mixes with the…mpphf!" Ryoko started to say before Yosho's hands left her ears and covered her mouth.  
  
"Ayeka!" Yosho pleaded.  
  
"Miss Mihoshi, can you please help me fold these napkins?" Ayeka asked from the table, running inference. "Right now?"  
  
"Not right now, I have to go on duty!" Mihoshi said while pulling a pink control cube out of her massive ponytail. She twisted it and was suddenly attired in her Galaxy Police uniform. "I'll be back in a few days, I'm on extended patrol." She waved as she gave the cube a final twist. "Tell your mommy hi for me little girl!" And she was gone.  
  
Ryoko looked back up at Yosho and pulled away his hands. "Either she was nuts or my mom has more to tell me than I think."  
  
Yosho replaced his hand on Ryoko's shoulder. "That's just Mihoshi, another guest here. Sometimes her work-related stress gets to her, but she is very kind."  
  
"How many people live here, anyway?" Ryoko asked. "This doesn't look like a hotel."  
  
Yosho steered Ryoko towards the table. "You have met them all besides my son-in-law who works in the city. We are like a large family, not a hotel."  
  
"You mean you don't even charge them all rent?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"One doesn't do that to family," Yosho explained even as Ryoko didn't look convinced.  
  
"But how do you feed them all?" Ryoko wanted to know.  
  
Still laughing from the Mihoshi encounter, Tenchi walked over to Ryoko's side and looked DOWN at her, something that was certainly going to take some getting used to. He used to look up at her, and had only just recently begun to be near looking at her eye to eye. Now, the topmost spike of Ryoko's cyan hair reached almost to his nose.  
  
Ryoko had been very polite until the scene with Mihoshi, where he had caught some signs of her feisty personality. Was it possible that the real her was still in there?   
  
Ryoko caught him staring. "Yeees?" she asked uncomfortably in her little girl's voice.  
  
"Oh, ah, nothing," Tenchi stammered, walking around her. It was weird hearing her talk that way, like someone had made a recording of her voice and was playing it back too fast. He nodded in greeting to Ayeka as he sat next to her at the table.  
  
Ryoko shrugged and followed him. As he lowered his knees at his place setting, she watched the rest of the family take their seats. "So where do I sit?"  
  
Tenchi shifted in his seat and looked at Ayeka with a half-smile. "Well, you usually sit on the other side of me," he said patting a thin cushion on his open side.  
  
Ryoko considered for a moment and walked over to Ayeka. "I would like to sit by you, Lady Ayeka, please," she stated simply.  
  
Ayeka's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't want to sit by Lord Tenchi?"  
  
"No. I want to sit by you," Ryoko repeated.  
  
"Well, all right," Ayeka murmured clearly not certain about what was happening as she nudged Tenchi with her elbow.  
  
He scooted down a place and Ayeka walked around him on her knees to take up his old spot, carefully folding her kimono over her lap as she settled.  
  
Ryoko sank bonelessly to the floor at Ayeka's side. "Thanks."  
  
Tenchi leaned forward over the table and peered past Ayeka at Ryoko. "Why didn't you want to sit by me?" As much as he had previously disliked being stuck between two bickering women at meal time, Ryoko's actions hurt him.  
  
Ryoko ignored him and raised her hands in front of her and summoned a holographic laptop console very like her mother's. She keyed in a code and text scrolled rapidly across the screen, her eyes darting back and forth at an uncanny pace as she read.  
  
Ayeka licked her heart shaped lips and brushed her fingertips over Ryoko's knee. "Ryoko dear, you should be polite and answer Lord Tenchi."  
  
"I'm sorry," Ryoko said without looking up. "I have to finish my homework."  
  
Sasami giggled as she filled bowls with fresh steamed rice. "Come on Ryoko, be nice to Tenchi."  
  
Ryoko sighed and flicked a key with her pinkie, pausing the screen. "He looks at me funny. I don't like it." She gave him a side way glance. "I was trying not to have to say that, sorry Mr. Tenchi."  
  
"What? I'm sorry Ryoko, I didn't realize I was doing that," Tenchi apologized as his heart sunk. Mr. Tenchi? How polite, an unutterably not like his Ryoko.  
  
Ryoko smiled vaguely. "That's alright - Ack! You're doing it again," she exclaimed, looking disturbed.  
  
"Sorry!" Tenchi temporized and quickly looked away. This was not going well.  
  
"Do I have booger on my nose or something?" Ryoko muttered.   
  
Sasami giggled, but Ayeka frowned. "That is not appropriate table talk," she admonished. "You sound just like your mother."  
  
Ryoko blushed, showing she was embarrassed by the princess' reprimand. "Speaking of mom, where is she?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"She doesn't always join us for meals," Sasami explained passing the bowls of rice down the table.  
  
"Want me to call her?" Ryoko asked tapping her temple with an index finger.  
  
"Yes, Please!" Sasami agreed eagerly. "I made her and Ayeka's favorite, sake simmered sea bream."  
  
"Coming right up," Ryoko said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her eyes flew open and she shouted, "MOOOOOOOOOM!"  
  
Tenchi rubbed his ears with a wince. "Isn't it easier to use your telepathic bond?" he prompted.  
  
"She'll just ignore that," she said and then pulled in a deeper breath and repeatedly called for Washu.  
  
Yosho chuckled and reached for a serving of fish. "The young lady certainly knows her mother."  
  
The storage closet door flew open with a bang. "What a racket!" Washu beamed, simply glowing with joy and the aura of motherhood. "Good morning my little Ryoko," she caroled as sashayed towards them. "Is she still being polite and sweet?"  
  
Ayeka nodded. "Yes she is. She is a very well behaved young lady."  
  
Washu rolled her eyes. "What a little con artist! Don't let her fool you! She is always like that when we move to a new place. It won't take long for her true colors to show. Right sweetie?" she asked walking over to Ryoko and kneeling behind her. She gave Ryoko a hug from behind and kissed the crown of her head.  
  
"Mom!" Ryoko complained. "Why do you always say that?" Ryoko squirmed out of the hug and half turned to give Washu a reproachful stare.  
  
"You are what you are, honey," Washu said, tapping Ryoko's nose with her index finger. "How do you feel today?" Washu's teasing tone turned a shade clinical as she eyed her daughter closely. "Any change in your memories?"  
  
"Fine and no." Ryoko took in Washu's casual outfit of shorts and a stripped hooded shirt with a small frown. "Aren't we having class today?"  
  
Washu's jaw dropped. "Class?"  
  
Ryoko gestured at her laptop. "Don't tell me I've been cramming the astrophysics notes in for nothing."  
  
"Oh, well, uh," Washu temporized, casting a pleading gaze to the others around the table.  
  
"Isn't today a holiday?" Tenchi asked, trying to help. Despite his own feelings, watching Washu and Ryoko have a normal interaction had left him with a warm feeling in his heart.  
  
Ryoko flicked her eyes back to him. "Then why did Sasami pack you a bento box for school?"  
  
Tenchi looked down at his lap. "Oh, well… heh-heh."   
  
Ryoko sighed and banished her laptop. "Fine. Don't tell me what's going on." She flashed a hurt look to Washu. "I'll just figure it out myself." She turned stoically to her bowl of rice and began eating it, ignoring everyone as she took dainty little bites, chewing carefully and thoroughly before swallowing.  
  
"Look at that picky eater!" Washu sighed dreamily. "I bet you didn't expect that."  
  
Yosho caught Washu eyes and with a scowl he shook his head, indicating that now was not the time to revel in Ryoko's changes.  
  
Catching his meaning, Washu quieted and regarded Ryoko with a serious expression. After a moment, she touched Ryoko's arm. "I'm sorry," she said with great earnestness. "There is more going on than I even know how to explain."  
  
Ryoko swallowed her bite and dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "I don't like secrets," she said looking into her bowl.  
  
"I know you don't but…" Washu paused struggled for the right words, worry and concern warring for precedence on her face. "It's just that I don't know what to do."  
  
Ryoko's back stiffened and she set her bowl back on the table with a gentle thump. "YOU don't know what to do?" she asked with disbelief.  
  
Washu nodded. "It's true," she said quietly. "So bear with me until I figure this out."  
  
Ryoko folded her hands in her lap, still looking down, her entire posture one of meekness. "Something bad happened to me, didn't it?"  
  
Washu closed her eyes for a moment, her posture one of defeat. "Yes, I'm afraid it did."  
  
"Why won't you tell me what it was?" Ryoko whispered.  
  
"Honey, I've told you."  
  
Ryoko shrugged Washu's hand off of her shoulder. "You told me that I had lost my memories because of an accident, but you wouldn't tell me what accident. You won't tell me how much time has passed," Ryoko's voice was raising as it thickened with distress. "And there are all these people I don't know!" She scrubbed her leaking eyes with a tight fist. "Last night, I woke up naked in some strange coat, then this morning you FORGOT about school." Ryoko's voice increased in pitch as she spoke. "You never, ever, never, give me a break from school, even when other people get holiday time! Something is wrong and you won't tell me!"  
  
Watching the painful scene was almost too much for Tenchi. He fought the urge to sweep the little girl into his arms and comfort her. The fear in her voice begged him to make the monsters go away. Yet he knew that he wasn't her knight anymore, so with great difficulty he held his tongue and kept his seat.  
  
"What do you remember about Kagato?" Yosho asked calmly, his hands folded in his lap.  
  
Tenchi's mouth dropped open in shock, Ayeka blinked, and Sasami choked in her rice.  
  
"No!" Washu shouted. "We will not be mentioning that name around her, do you understand me?" she growled, pointing a stiff index finger at the old man. "If you do, you will regret it. I am DEADLY serious."  
  
"Kagato?" Ryoko sniffed. "Why are you so worked up over a graduate student?"  
  
"We are not discussing it," Washu bit out.  
  
"But…"  
  
Washu stood up her entire body quaking with anger. "Hurry and finish your breakfast. We have class in ten minutes." She pushed up from the floor and marched back to her lab without another word.  
  
Ryoko watched her go then turned back to her tablemates. "Can you guys tell me what's going on?"  
  
They all looked away in discomfort expect for Ayeka who gave her best smile. "Just eat. The answers will come."  
  
Yosho grunted and nodded his head. "Ayeka is right. Finish your food while you have time."  
  
Ryoko took a disinterested bite of fish. "It must have something to do with Kagato," she mused, forcing down the swallow. "But what? He is just a weird, geeky, guy. " She placed her chopsticks on the table. "I'm not hungry. See you guys later." She got up and followed the path of her mother.  
  
As Ryoko left, Tenchi and Ayeka exchanged a worried glance.  
  
"You don't think Washu will try to keep the truth from her?" Tenchi asked. Given today's example, that would lead to nothing but pain. And where would that path leave his vanished friend?  
  
"Why shouldn't she?" Ayeka countered. "I think Ryoko deserves a fresh start."  
  
"But what about our Ryoko? Our old friend? What happened to her?" Tenchi asked, gripping the table.  
  
"It is her mother's decision about what to tell her," Yosho said. "We do not have that right."  
  
Tenchi pursed his lips and said nothing.  
  
Sasami pushed a fishbone around the edge of her plate. "I just hope Ryoko can be happy."  
  
Before anyone could echo that sentiment Ryoko rushed out of the lab in tears with Washu chasing after her.  
  
"I don't care what you say! That is not your lab!" Ryoko shouted. "It's too big and too dark!"  
  
"Dear, I just made a few changes," Washu, now wearing her GA uniform, tried to reason.  
  
Ryoko backed away from her. "A few?! Your lab is just a big room with a door that bypasses pseudo-space. I don't even know what that place is!" Ryoko cried pointing to the storage closet door.  
  
"Calm down," Washu soothed. "I just figured out a few things about subspace during my imprison- I mean during the time of your memory loss."  
  
Ryoko's backwards steps shifted course as she neared the table, she was clearly frightened of all of them. "S-stay away from me. You're not who you say you are! None of you!" She backed up against the wall, trembling. "I want my mom," she whispered.  
  
Washu moved forward only a step, and paused when Ryoko flinched at the movement. "I am your mother," she pleaded. "Don't do this to me again!"  
  
"Liar!" Ryoko managed to say through her shaking teeth. "Are you… you… Kagato in disguise? Do you want to hurt me?"  
  
"No!" Washu cried in agony. "Please… honey…."  
  
Yosho creaked to his feet, old joints popping as he rose. "That's enough."  
  
Ryoko pushed herself into the wall as he approached her. "Stay away… or I'll…." She hooked her fingers into claws and a weak spark of yellow energy fizzled into and out of life.  
  
"I'm sorry," Yosho said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, digging his fingers into a nerve cluster at the base of Ryoko's neck.   
  
Ryoko gasped in surprise and discomfort before her eyes rolled back into her head. Yosho caught her in his arms before she could fall. As he hefted her up into a more comfortable carrying position, he made eye contact with Washu.  
  
"You just had to bring up Kagato," Washu said bitterly through the tears in her voice.  
  
Yosho stared at her for a long moment before answering. "This is not exactly the miracle you thought it was."  
  
Washu's mouth pressed into a firm line and she said nothing.  
  
Nodding as if she had spoken, Yosho turned and began carrying Ryoko up the stairs. "You need to decide what to tell her very soon. Choose wisely."  
  
"What do I choose?" Washu whispered to herself.  
  
Yosho paused for a moment. "A broken mirror has many shards, and they all reflect unexpected visions."  
  
Tenchi watched his grandfather disappear around the landing, followed by a subdued Washu. This was a nightmare. This frightened little girl was not his Ryoko. He wanted her back so much that he was willing to face the combined wrath of his grandfather and Washu to do it. Except that he didn't know what it was he needed to do, and more frightening, it was clear that the two most powerful people in his home didn't know what to do either.  
  
  
AN: Well, here we go again. Stay tuned for chapter three. Thanks to my pre-readers. You guys make writing so much fun… and as an extra bonus, you keep me honest! Yippeee! 


	3. The Way We Were

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
  
Chapter Three: The Way We Were  
  
  
Ryoko's eyes twitched as she shifted in bed. She had a habit of not opening her eyes as she awoke. She kept them closed until she was certain she was ready to get up. That way, certain sneaky mothers couldn't surprise her. She listened for the sounds of Washu typing on her computer as she took stock of her body and winced at the dull pain in her shoulder, it was like a muscle cramp but sharper. What was up with that? She repeatedly ran a hand over the sore spot, flinching as her fingers made contact with the tender skin just above her clavicle.  
  
"I'll bet that really hurts."  
  
Two things registered with Ryoko – the voice was male, and she didn't recognize it. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw a young boy sitting on the edge of her bed. What was he doing in her room? Was this a dream? She stared at him as she continued to wake-up.  
  
"Do you remember what happened?" he asked in a low, calming voice that she recognized.  
  
Oh. That was Masaki Tenchi, and he lived here. This might even be his room. Then, why would she be in his bed? She thought about what he said. Remember?   
  
She searched her memories and found her most recent one, that of someone impersonating her mother and of Yosho menacing her. As she remembered, fear replaced the confusion on her face. She pulled the blankets up around her neck and regarded him with large, yellow eyes.  
  
"Don't be afraid," he whispered, patting her leg. "You are safe here."  
  
"Where's my mom?" Ryoko asked trying to sound cool and moving her leg out of reach. Why had these crackpots kidnapped her? Was it for ransom? Maybe someone wanted one of her mom's patents in exchange for her!  
  
"She's in her lab, thinking," Tenchi said.  
  
"That's not her lab and that's not my mom! I am not stupid, you know!" Ryoko snapped, her fear making her angry. "You better let me go before my mom creams you!"  
  
Tenchi listened patiently. "Please try to be calm. I promise you that Washu is who she says she is and that the spaces behind the storage closet door are truly her lab," Tenchi said looking her straight in the eye.  
  
Ryoko looked back, still clutching at her blanket. "Just don't hurt me, okay? My mom will do whatever you want."  
  
A mixture of pain and offense fleeted across Tenchi's face. "Hurt you? How could you even say that?" He leaned back, as if it stung to be too close to her.  
  
Ryoko tried to form a ball of energy in her palm while her hands were still hidden under the blankets. She wasn't very good at energy control yet, and couldn't really tell if anything was happening without looking. She sat up carefully, the blankets still close about her. "Hello, you kidnapped me!" she temporized as she wiggled her fingers trying to detect the presence of an energy field. "Why wouldn't you hurt me?"  
  
Tenchi looked to side for a moment then looked back to Ryoko, his eyes quietly intense. "Ryoko, please, everything I've told you is true." A little sigh escaped his lips and he clasped his hands in his lap. "I would never hurt you."  
  
Ryoko rubbed her thumb and forefingers together. Nothing was happening. She gave up on the energy ball idea and switched tactics. Maybe she could talk her way out of this one. "I knew something was wrong the moment you started looking at me funny," she asserted. "Why should I trust you?"  
  
Tenchi's eyes were lonely. "Because I was one of your best friends. You are special to everyone here, even if you can't remember us."  
  
To her surprise, the sadness in his tone touched her, and Ryoko found herself wanting to believe him. She bit her lip and watched him through lowered lashes. If nothing else, she was very good at reading people. Tenchi's body language was telling her that he was not aggressive and more, he was hurting somehow. However, it could be a trick.  
  
Ryoko eyed the door. "If you are my friend, then you'll let me go, right?" she asked, wondering if he could catch her before she could clear the door. Her phasing was pretty much under control. She could probably just go right through the wall if things got too close.  
  
Understanding dawned in Tenchi's eyes. "Ryoko, you can leave whenever you want." He held his hands out to show they were empty. "No one's forcing you to stay in my room. How can I make you believe that I am your friend?"   
  
Each word was weighted with heartbreak, and Ryoko thought she saw the sparkle of a tear on his lashes. Her heart wanted to believe him, but there was so much she didn't understand. "Then why did you let that man hurt me?" she whispered.  
  
Tenchi puffed up his cheeks and ran nervous fingers through his hair. "The situation was falling apart… you had just – just changed… you were summoning energy…I think grandfather was afraid you would hurt yourself."  
  
Ryoko thought about that. All of that seemed likely, and afterwards she had woken up in a warm bed, not tied up on the floor. Even so, there were some unanswered questions. "But, that woman…" she began.  
  
"Was no one other than your mother," Tenchi said firmly, patting the bed to emphasize each word. "I swear it."  
  
She could tell that he believed what he was saying, even if she still had her doubts. Ryoko let the blankets fall to her lap and pretended to closely examine her finger nails. "But – but her lab is so different now."  
  
Tenchi nodded. "Things change."  
  
"Change takes time," Ryoko countered, half-looking up. "Lots of change takes lots of time."   
  
Tenchi looked away, his expression suddenly closed.  
  
Ryoko sniffed the air, like a hound on a fresh scent. She was onto something for him to react that way. It seemed like the real issue here was the passage of time, not who was who. Almost afraid to hear the answers, Ryoko leaned forward, crawling on her knees so she could look at his face. "How long? How long has it been between what I remember and when we are now?"  
  
Tenchi turned the other way, leaving her staring at the back of his head where the small tail of hair sprouted form the edge of his hairline. "It's not my place to say."  
  
Ryoko made a fist and ground it into her palm. "So it was a very long time," she concluded.  
  
"You have no idea," he said under his breath.  
  
Not hearing him, Ryoko sank back on her haunches. "Was it more than a year?" she asked hesitantly. That would explain almost everything.  
  
Tenchi gave a sharp dip of his head.  
  
"Whoa." A whole year of her life was gone. Too numb to mourn the lost time, Ryoko leaned against the headboard of the bed. "Tenchi?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"You said you were my friend. I mean before I forgot things. Were you really my friend?" She reached out a brushed her fingertips along the edge of his sleeve.  
  
Tenchi turned to face her with a genuine smile. "You bet. We are the best of friends." He emphasized the present tense of the verb as he spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry I don't remember anything about you," she said carefully trying not to hurt his feelings.   
  
His smile faded and his eyes took on that haunted look she had seen earlier.   
  
"There," she said, withdrawing her hand. "That creepy look is back," she said matter-of-factly. "Why do you look at me that way?"  
  
He sighed. "I miss the parts of you that are gone, I guess."  
  
"Gone? I'm still me, Tenchi," she said, a small crease forming between her brows.  
  
"Hmmm," he said noncommittally.  
  
"Aren't I?" Her stomach cramped as the edge of a realization came to her. "Have I changed that much?" As she had met everyone, she had noted surprise in their eyes. At the time, she had brushed it off, but now she wondered. What was so different about her? Ryoko moved closer to Tenchi until she was nearly in his lap. "Please," she said. "Tell me. How long?"  
  
"I'm sorry," he choked. "I can't tell you," he whispered harshly, squeezing his eyes closed.  
  
"Then who will? I thought you said you were my friend!" she objected.  
  
Tenchi wiped away a tear. "Washu will."  
  
Ryoko took in his tears and considered Washu's strange behaviors. "She's afraid isn't she?"  
  
Tenchi sniffed and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"And look at you," Ryoko continued. "It has to be really, really bad."  
  
Tenchi wouldn't answer and kept his gaze on the ceiling.  
  
Ryoko watched him for a moment and sighed. He was obviously not going to tell her any more. Maybe she didn't want him to anyway. Maybe this was all just a bad dream.  
  
Just as Ryoko had decided to leave him to his thoughts and explore on her own, a light knock came at the door. "May I come in?" asked Ayeka's soft voice.  
  
"Yes, please!" Ryoko called rather desperately.  
  
Ayeka slid the door open and came in bearing a tray of tea things. "Oh my, is everything alright?" she said, seeing Tenchi's state of distress.  
  
Ryoko hopped out of the bed and took the tea things form Ayeka and set them on a low table by the bed. "Tenchi is upset," she said simply. "I'm asking him difficult questions."  
  
"I see," Ayeka said slowly, glancing at Tenchi. "What do you want to know?"  
  
Tenchi pulled his gaze down from the ceiling and regarded Ayeka bleakly. "She has figured most of it out on her own."  
  
"Ah." Ayeka busied herself with pouring tea into a mismatched assortment of mugs.  
  
Ryoko balanced her weight on the tips of her toes and rocked back to her heels. "Princess Ayeka, will you please tell me the rest?" She could already tell this nut would be harder to crack.  
  
Ayeka handed Ryoko a slender mug with smooth sides and a chipped edge. "Drink your tea," she said softly.  
  
As Ayeka handed Tenchi his own cup, Ryoko tipped the cup back and took a large swig. "Hot!" she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out and sucking air over it quickly.  
  
Ayeka took a seat at Tenchi's desk. "You need to be more careful," she chided, blowing softly on her own tea. "And so do you Lord Tenchi. Washu will not appreciate us making matters more complicated."  
  
"I haven't told her anything!" Tenchi defended. "She guessed it all."  
  
"Oh?" Ayeka asked regally. "And just what have you guessed, little Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko tested her scalded tongue against her teeth before answering. "I know that over a year has passed, and that mom's lab is weird, and that you guys think I am really different from the person you know me as."  
  
"Hmm. Maybe your guesses are not quite correct," Ayeka said smoothly as she exercised her political skills.  
  
Ryoko smiled. "Nice try Princess Ayeka, but Tenchi already told me I was right," she bragged as she sat at Ayeka's feet.  
  
Ayeka winced and looked over at an embarrassed Tenchi. "Like I said Lord Tenchi, we should be more careful."  
  
Ryoko reached up and put her mug on Tenchi's desk, her tongue wasn't up for anymore tea today. She tugged at Ayeka's robe. "Please, won't you tell me how long my memory gap is?"  
  
Ayeka patted Ryoko's head. "That is for your mother to tell you, I fear." She smiled at Ryoko's pout and brushed some errant locks out of Ryoko's face. "Don't fuss. Your questions will be answered."  
  
"Awww!" Ryoko pouted and rested her head on her knees.  
  
"Now, now, you are too old to be acting like Sasami," Ayeka scolded with no little mirth.  
  
Ryoko looked up at the fond expression in Ayeka's eyes. "Princess, were you my friend too? Like Tenchi?"  
  
Ayeka looked startled for a moment, then nodded. "Of course! We all were your friends."  
  
"And still are," Tenchi added firmly.  
  
"Yes, nothing has changed in that regard," Ayeka confirmed.  
  
"Ah ha! So you admit things have changed!" Ryoko said jumping to her feet and pointing at the princess. "I knew it!"  
  
"I see I should not have left you alone with her to get the tea!" Ayeka said with a small laugh. "She is too much for even the two of us."  
  
Despite her worries, Ryoko couldn't help giggling at that. She liked outfoxing people. It was one if her favorite games.  
  
Ayeka finished her tea and stood. "Thank goodness that Washu will be taking over very soon. It's lunch time. Let's go see what Sasami has made for us."  
  
Ryoko perked up at that. Between her lack of breakfast and her worries, it had been a hungry day so far. It was likely that her mother would be at lunch too. Food and answers were forthcoming. The day seemed likely to improve from this point. "Let's go!"  
  
"Miss Ryoko," Ayeka said delicately. "You may want to tidy up a bit."  
  
"Hmmm?" Ryoko asked looking down at her clothing. Her uniform was in heavy creases from having slept in it, and a hand feeling in her hair told her it was a series of knots and snarls for the same reason. "Oh, Right. Can you guys please turn around?"  
  
"Oh, uh, sure," Tenchi said as Ayeka took hold of his arm and turned them both around.  
  
There was a soft sound of matter displacement followed quickly by a second set of sounds. "Okay, you can turn back," Ryoko called.  
  
They turned to see her attired in a soft yellow dress that deepened the color of her eyes. It was cut in a simple A-line and was sleeveless with a high turtleneck. Ryoko's hair had been combed and tied back into a pony tail with a matching yellow ribbon.  
  
"You look very nice," Tenchi told her.  
  
"Yes indeed," Ayeka seconded. "Much better."  
  
Tenchi held out his arm, but Ryoko just looked at him oddly.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
Tenchi walked over and gently slipped Ryoko's arm through his. "It's the custom here for gentlemen to escort young ladies to the table," he informed her. "Ayeka?" he asked offering his free arm.  
  
"Thank you," Ayeka said happily, taking his arm.  
  
"This is weird," Ryoko complained.  
  
Tenchi laughed and led them to lunch.  
  
***  
  
Trying not to worry excessively about the holes in her memory, Ryoko spent lunch getting reacquainted with the household. She listened raptly as Ayeka told of her ordeals with many suitors before escaping to her extended vacation on the Earth.  
  
"Didn't you like any of them?" Ryoko asked with her mouth full of sashimi. "None at all?" It seemed like something out of a dream to her. To be a rich, beautiful, princess sounded lovely, not to mention being courted so romantically.  
  
Ayeka growled in the back of her throat and narrowed her eyes.  
  
Ryoko swallowed, almost chocking at the flash of bitterness she had seen in Ayeka. "Did I say anything wrong, Princess? I – I just thought all of those princes sounded so romantic."  
  
Ayeka shook her head and banished the suspicious expression. "No dear, you are fine. It was just…" Ayeka paused, searching for words. "Don't speak with your mouth full," she finished lamely.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Ryoko said with bright red cheeks, she knew she had been terribly rude, even if she didn't understand why. "I forgot my manners. I'm sorry." Ryoko let her bangs fall over her eyes to hide her discomfort.  
  
"Your manners are wonderful!" Sasami exclaimed and everyone loudly agreed with her.  
  
"Thanks, but, why do you all seem so surprised about that?" Ryoko asked, happy for a subject change. No one had a good answer, so Ryoko pressed forward. "Maybe you can tell me about myself. Why did mom and I come here?"  
  
There was a long pause as everyone avoided Ryoko's inquisitive eyes.  
  
"I see." Ryoko bit her lip. "I guess that's a secret too." She pushed a wafer thin slice of pickled ginger around her plate. "I wish mom would come out."  
  
The broom closet door creaked open and a very weary adult Washu stepped through. "You called, honey?" she asked walking to the table.  
  
Ryoko's eyes widened until they seemed in danger of popping free of her face. "You're all grown up, Mommy." A shaking hand found its way to her mouth and she chewed on a knuckle. "This is serious." She had only seen Washu as an adult a handful of times, and each time had been in the middle of a disaster.  
  
"Yes, it is, my little Ryoko." Washu knelt by her daughter and drew her into a hug. "I love you. You have to remember that. You just have to."  
  
"Mom?" Ryoko quavered. "Please tell me what's wrong." She hugged her mom tightly. "You're scaring me."  
  
"Do you believe I'm me?" Washu asked into Ryoko's hair as the assembly at the table watched the unfolding drama with concern.  
  
Ryoko pulled back and regarded her mother seriously. "Yes. I've figured some things out."  
  
Washu smiled wryly. "I just bet you have. Do you have any questions left?"  
  
Ryoko nodded, tucking a strand of cyan hair behind a large ear. "How long?"  
  
Washu cupped Ryoko's chin in her hand and kissed Ryoko's nose. "You are so smart, but that's not the whole problem. I am going to tell you some things that will not make sense right away, but they should when I'm all done. So don't interrupt, OK?" Washu asked releasing her daughter reluctantly.  
  
"Okay," Ryoko said, sitting on her hands, physically and symbolically restraining herself.   
  
Washu rubbed her temple tiredly and began. "When you were 16 you were kidnapped by one of my students, Kagato. You were his slave for almost five thousand years. And I was his prisoner for that time," she said dully.  
  
"Uh…" Ryoko said, trying to take that in. Slave? Five thousand years?  
  
Washu closed her eyes and continued. "You were set free, basically, by Yosho, and 700 years later you met and fell in love with Tenchi."  
  
Ryoko choked, but held her tongue. In love? Her eyes darted over to Tenchi whose cheeks were red. He seemed to be staring away into the past.  
  
"Then," Washu added. "You were attacked by a robot that copied your memory. That robot merged its memories with your own, and after much difficulty, the robot's memories overwrote your own."  
  
Ryoko blinked. It was all too much, her head felt light, as if it might just come free from her neck and float away. She swayed in her seat and felt someone's hand steady her.  
  
"But it seems that those copied memories were not completely up to date. Those are the memories you have now, my dear, and they only go up to the day before you were taken from me."  
  
Ryoko moved her lips but no sound came out. Maybe her head had already floated free.  
  
"I'm not done," Washu said holding up a palm. She addressed her next remarks to everyone. "This set of memories is not stable either. It seems the whole merging process damaged Ryoko's neural configuration in complex ways. My projections show that her current memory set will begin degrading in the next 24 hours."  
  
"Momma," Ryoko whispered. "Five thousand years? Robots? Tenchi?"  
  
Washu took Ryoko's hand and squeezed. "I know it's too much, but that's the way it happened."  
  
Ryoko looked at her fingers in Washu's hand. "Five thousand years? Shouldn't we be dead?"  
  
Washu clucked her tongue. "That's not important right now."  
  
Ryoko started to cry. "I don't want to be five thousand years old. Say this isn't true!"  
  
Washu's lip trembled. "Oh, honey…" she said wiping tears from Ryoko's cheeks as they fell.  
  
"Twenty-four hours? What happens after that? What are you going to do, Washu?" Tenchi demanded.   
  
Ryoko looked at him watery eyes and looked away when she realized it was his steadying hand on her shoulder.  
  
Washu patted Ryoko's hand. "If we leave her as she is, she will have complete and permanent amnesia within two weeks," she said lowly.  
  
"You must have another option!" Ayeka prompted, half rising form her seat.  
  
"I have a mostly current back up of the old Ryoko's memories. I can give them back to her and things can be like they were," Washu admitted.  
  
"Why didn't you do that before?" Ryoko asked, rubbing her nose on her arm. "I don't want to lose five thousand years of my life! I want to remember!"  
  
"You mean Ryoko would remember me?" Tenchi asked hopefully, although no one was paying attention to him.  
  
Washu opened her eyes and she looked lost. "Sweetie, those memories are terrible. Very bad things happened to you. You… you didn't turn out to be a happy person."  
  
Ryoko took her free hand and wrapped it around Washu's and her own hand. "But I'll still have you, right? How bad can it be if we are still together, even after all of that?"  
  
Washu swallowed. "You hate me, these days."  
  
Ryoko shook her head. "I couldn't."  
  
"Oh, but you do," Washu said sadly.  
  
Ryoko frowned. "Why? You're my MOM! Why would I hate you? Was it your fault or something?"  
  
Washu shrugged helplessly.  
  
"No," Yosho spoke up. "It wasn't. Kagato stole you from Washu. He betrayed her, and she was taken by surprise and couldn't stop him. She was his prisoner too," he said.  
  
Ryoko looked from Yosho to her mother. "And I know that and still hate you?"  
  
Washu nodded meekly.  
  
Ryoko chewed on her lip and looked mortified. "I'm sorry mom," Ryoko said with shame. "I'm sorry I turned out to be a big jerk."  
  
Washu waved away Ryoko's comments. "Well, now you know your choices. It's up to you. Do you want to fade away or go back to what you were?"  
  
"I want to be like I am now. Having those old memories back are not worth having to hate you," Ryoko said immediately. "I won't give up."  
  
"Honey," Washu began sadly. "You don't really have a choice."  
  
Ryoko threw her arms around Washu's neck. "You can do ANYTHING mommy! Please try. I don't want to go back to hating you. I love you!"  
  
Washu drew in a shaking breath and hugged Ryoko back as tears showed themselves in her voice. "Yes, Sweetie, yes. I love you too."  
  
"Then fix this!" Ryoko cried. "If she hates you, then I don't want to be her anymore!"  
  
Washu's hands closed into determined fists as she pulled back from her daughter's embrace. "Don't cry, baby. I can fix this."  
  
"You better promise!" Ryoko hiccupped.  
  
"I promise," Washu said extending a hand to Ryoko. "Will you promise to be brave and come into my new lab?"  
  
Ryoko took Washu's hand and shook it firmly, wiping away her tears with the other hand.  
  
Washu nodded resolutely. "Then come with me now. The sooner we get started, the better the chances are that this process won't keep looping back upon itself." She rose to her feet, pulling Ryoko up with her.  
  
Ryoko looked at her friends. "I hope you will all remember the old me and help me be nicer to my mom. Please help me to understand."  
  
"We will!" Sasami promised. "We love you both ways Ryoko! See you soon!"  
  
"Good luck Miss Ryoko," Ayeka said with a bracing smile. "Don't worry, we will honor your request."  
  
"I will say a prayer for you," Yosho promised. "Everything will turn out."  
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi said, his eyes glimmering. "Good luck. Just remember that we all love you… forever."  
  
Ryoko felt her heart contract at his words. She had loved him. Had he loved her just like everyone else, or had it been special? "Tenchi…"  
  
"Go now," he encouraged, shooing her towards the door with her hands.  
  
Ryoko nodded, taking an extra look into his eyes before she turned around.  
  
Washu drew herself up to her full height. "I'm not certain how this will all end, but no matter what, I hope you will all remember this day." She pulled on Ryoko's hand and soon they both disappeared into the lab.  
  
  
  
Stay tuned, Y'all!  
  
  
AN: Thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to send me their comments. It's good to know that people are reading this little story of mine! Thanks to the usual people. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate the help of my pre-readers. You guys are beyond the best!!! 


	4. The Nature of Change

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
  
  
Chapter Four:The Nature of Change  
  
  
It had been a long, sleepless night for everyone in the Masaki home. The darkness flowed on like a long, rolling river with no end in sight. Floating upon the choppy water, like buoys marking dangerous reefs, were their doubts. Would Washu be able to save Ryoko's current incarnation? What would happen if Washu failed? Was it even the right thing to do?  
  
A prisoner to his own thoughts, Tenchi lay in bed, his sheets tangled around his feet like heavy chains and his comforter hanging almost completely off the side. He watched the darkness give way to the pale light of false dawn. Outside his bedside window the landscape was the same, unchanged from the day before.  
  
Somewhere in the depths of subspace, Ryoko was being changed. His Ryoko was on the cusp of extinction. There were many things he liked about his Ryoko. She was strong, brave, and despite all of her troubles she was able to see the humor in most situations. All of these things would surely be gone with the sun. Any person was a sum of their experiences. Take the past away, and you took out a chunk of someone's soul.  
  
He kicked his comforter the rest of the way off of the bed and wiggled his toes. Deep in his heart it felt like they were killing Ryoko. He rolled over and burrowed under his pillows. His head was hidden from view, but he could not hide from himself. As much as he mourned the loss of his friend, he couldn't help but remember that she had asked for it, it was her own choice. Well, it sort of was. His Ryoko hadn't been around to be asked for her preference. Just that strange girl who wore Ryoko's face and what did she know about anything?  
  
Grunting, he rolled out from under the pillow and let his upper body hang upside down over the side of the bed. There were no answers that made any sense. He looked up at the ceiling wanting nothing more than to see Ryoko floating above his bed. The emptiness of the space above him reflected the emptiness in his heart.  
  
Down the hall, in a darker room, two princesses pondered similar thoughts.  
  
"Sister, are you awake?" asked Sasami into the dim light, her unbound hair hanging heavily on her shoulders as she lay on her stomach upon her futon, chin resting on her elbows, the covers neatly folding over her back. She looked to where Ayeka was curled on her side, facing away. Beyond her light seeped around the edges of the drawn window shade, announcing the coming of morning.  
  
"Yes," Ayeka answered softly, not moving. "Keep your voice down, we don't want to wake Lord Tenchi." The elder princess knew where this discussion was going and hoped her words would silence her younger sister.  
  
"I bet he is awake," Sasami stated, even though she took her sister's advice and lowered her voice. "I think he is worried too. I know I am."  
  
"Why are you worried, Sasami?" Ayeka asked as she rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow to regard her sister with serious eyes. "Did you have another dream of the future?" She hoped that was all it was, but as she saw the sad eyes of her sister she knew she was mistaken. Like the wind through the garden chimes, nothing stopped Sasami when she was moved.  
  
"No, I just wonder if Washu is doing the right thing. What will happen to Ryoko?" Sasami wondered straightening her arms to run her fingers over the smooth-rough texture of the floor mats.  
  
Ayeka eased her self back under the covers. "Well, hopefully she will be stabilized as her younger self," she answered. "Perhaps she will be happier that way." She believed it too. Better than Tenchi could ever understand, Ayeka knew some of Ryoko's pain. She had born eyewitness to Ryoko's slavery; seen those mad, glowing, eyes. She had heard that evil cackle to which Ryoko had never once of her own free will given voice. She knew Ryoko had held those horrible memories far too close. Anything was worth sparing Ryoko that, anything, including the loss of her first real friend.  
  
"Yes, but what about OUR Ryoko, Ayeka? Where will she go?" Sasami quavered, slinking deeper under her blanket, so just her eyes peeked out.  
  
Ayeka was quiet for a moment. This was the question she had feared. It was difficult to explain to the others why she felt things were working out for the best. They couldn't comprehend the world she and Ryoko had once seen. Banishing the memory of fires and destruction, Ayeka tried to keep it simple. "I think she is already gone. I'm sorry, Sasami."  
  
"But… but…." Sasami stuttered, her big, pink eyes tearing up. "I will miss her so much!" She covered her face with small hands. "She was like my sister."  
  
Ayeka reached out between their futons and patted Sasami's head. "I know," she replied. "I will miss her too."  
  
Sasami cried out again, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.  
  
"Here," Ayeka offered, holding up one corner of her blankets.  
  
Sasami looked around her hands, when she saw what was offered, she wiped her tears and quickly wiggled out from her bed and crawled in with her sister. She snuggled close and pressed her wet cheeks against Ayeka's neck.  
  
Ayeka made sure the blankets were covering them adequately and held Sasami close. "It will all be okay," she whispered as she felt fresh tears dampen the collar of her nightgown. She was unable to tell if the tears belonged to her or her sister.  
  
Up the steep side of the mountain, an old priest meditated upon the changes at hand. He sat in seiza on the gabled porch of his office, back straight and hands folded in his lap. His dark grey hair was neatly contained in a tail that hung past his shoulders. His uniform of dogi jacket and hakama coupled with the traditional architecture of the building made him appear timeless and ancient. Like a woodblock print washed of its colors, the early morning scene was dim and motionless. Rock still, he watched an orange sliver of sun crest the mountains and cast a splash of pigment upon the tops of the trees.  
  
Life itself was defined by suffering and change. Attachments led to suffering, and most sentient beings were burdened by many attachments. Everyday was change. Upon waking, one was not exactly the same person they were the night before. These principals drove the wheel of life ever onward. So for him, the questions of the morality of Ryoko's change held little meaning. What would be would be.   
  
His tranquil expression faltered, as other thoughts wormed their way into his calming mantra. Much of Ryoko's suffering was his fault. At hand was the undoing 700 years of unintended torture. Light played across his glasses as he tilted his head in thought. For him, Ryoko's new innocence was a burden lifted from his heart, as much as he tried to stay aloof from the morality of it all. Mistakes had been made and now he had a chance to make up for them. Even he had his attachments and suffering. As the morning song birds began to warm up their throats, he closed his eyes and prayed that Tsunami would lay her healing touch on them all.   
  
***  
  
The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds, its mechanical clicks sounding louder than usual, like the clacking of a rollercoaster being drawn uphill by a conveyer belt. The only other sound was the clatter of dishes in the kitchen as Sasami finished her post-breakfast clean up.  
  
Poised, as if in that rollercoaster hovering at the brink of a tall hill, Tenchi and Ayeka sat stiffly on opposite ends of the couch. They looked away from each other though each had an eye directed at the door to Washu's lab. Tenchi, his hair uncharacteristically uncombed, pulled at a thread that was beginning to unravel from the hem of his work shirt. While Ayeka, immaculate as ever in a western blue skirt and cream blouse, held her self perfectly still. They had no reason to expect Washu would be finished any time soon, but felt unable to do anything but wait.  
  
Tenchi licked his lips and fidgeted. "So," he began, tugging at the thread. "What do you think is going on in there?" He gazed into space as he awaited her answer.  
  
"Hmmm," Ayeka murmured, her eyes distant. Purple bangs shaded her face, adding an extra screen over her thoughts.  
  
Tenchi nodded to himself and found that if he pulled the string at a shaper angle, more of it came free from his shirt. "I wonder who Ryoko is right now?" he murmured to himself.  
  
Ayeka's shoulders stiffened at his comment and she turned, alighting her gaze upon him. "Tenchi…" she began painfully then broke off as she saw what he was doing. "Oh, Lord Tenchi, don't pull on that! I just fixed the hem yesterday!" she chided, easily switching into her domestic persona.  
  
"Oh, sorry!" Tenchi placed his hands to the sides of his legs and pressed down on the couch. "Just nervous, I guess." He turned wistful eyes to the princess. "Aren't you?"  
  
Ayeka's chin lowered until it was touching the collar of her vanilla blouse. "Of course I am."  
  
Tenchi ran a hand through his brown hair and stared at Ayeka, almost as if he were trying to discern something. "No one seems to care what's happening to her." He brought his hands to his lap and clasped them. "No one else seems to think there is something wrong," he whispered, looking down at his fingers.  
  
Ayeka took a short breath, exhaling in a little sigh. She ran a finger along the seam of her skirt. "The line between what is right and wrong can be more easily undone than the hem of your shirt."  
  
Tenchi frowned. "You sound like grandpa."  
  
"We had the same teachers." Ayeka lifted her chin and looked at him calmly. "Those words are very true. How can we know what's best?"  
  
Tenchi rolled his chest forward, so that his clasped hands pushed towards the floor and his chin rested on his knees. He looked as if he were on a crashing airplane and was bracing for impact. "What about Ryoko, our Ryoko?"  
  
Ayeka scooted closer, her skirt whispering along the leather of the couch. Tentatively, she laid a hand on Tenchi's back. "You know as well as I that she is gone," she said in small, catching, voice.  
  
"What if she didn't want to go?" Tenchi asked, hugging his legs, sounding near tears.  
  
"She made this choice," Ayeka said, and even she sounded unsure.  
  
"That wasn't my Ryoko," Tenchi said stubbornly into his knees.  
  
"That is where you are wrong, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said firmly, squeezing his shoulder. "That girl was always apart of our Ryoko, however deep down." Her voice took on a strident sense of assurance.  
  
Tenchi kept silent and closed his eyes as he digested this new perspective.  
  
"In a way, Ryoko chose to have a second chance," Ayeka went on. "Think of it Tenchi! Ryoko has a chance to be free from her suffering! Don't you wish for her to be happy?" she asked giving his shoulder a little shake.  
  
Tenchi sat up and took Ayeka's hand from his shoulder and held it in a needy grasp. "Of course I do!" He looked away then re-met her gaze. "But I can't be sure this is what she wanted!"  
  
Ayeka looked down at his hand holding hers so tightly and seemed embarrassed. None the less she pushed on. "Is this about what she wanted or about what you want?"  
  
Tenchi flushed and bit his lip. "I don't know," he said honestly and squeezed her hand. He looked abashed for a moment and let go of her hand, placing it back in her lap.  
  
Ayeka clasped her fingers together. "I know what you mean." She looked towards the storage closet. "She was my friend, just because she wanted to be. Not because she wanted favors or rewards. That is a rarity in the life of a princess, I can assure you."  
  
"Ayeka…" Tenchi said sadly, reaching out and lightly running his fingers over her shoulder as if uncertain of his welcome.  
  
"So now, I must be her friend in return. I must help her be happy now that things have changed beyond any of our control," Ayeka said firmly, reaching up and flattening her palm against him, holding his fingers against her shoulder. "I will help her be happy, no matter what."   
  
Tenchi nodded and rubbed his temples with his free hand. "That is a good way to look at it. I want her to be happy too. I always have."  
  
Before Ayeka could reply the door to the lab creaked open. Tenchi snapped his hand back and he and Ayeka sat up straighter as they exchanged a hopeful glance.  
  
Washu leaned around the doorway and flashed them a victory sign. Her hair was mostly hidden up under a blue cap, and she was wearing mint-green surgical scrubs with a red crab motif sprinkled across the fabric. "Say good morning, Sunshine!" she said back over her shoulder.  
  
She ducked behind the door and soon remerged, pushing something that looked like a wheeled, winged-back chair. Ryoko, still small in stature, drowsed against a corner of the chair, a blanket tucked snugly under her chin. Her hair was completely shorn away and the pale globe of her head was marred by a large stitched scar that traced almost completely around it. She opened an eye and smiled weakly. "Hey."  
  
Tenchi hurried to his feet and over to the chair. He knelt by it and laid a hand on Ryoko's knee and peered into her face. "How are you, Ryoko?"  
  
She lolled her head in his direction. "Crappy," she groaned in her high pitched voice.  
  
Washu laughed, looking tired but jubilant. "You will have to excuse her manners this morning, Tenchi. Brain surgery takes the stuffing out of just about anyone."  
  
Tenchi eyed the scar. "Brain surgery?"  
  
Washu nodded, rubbing tired eyes. "I had to re-set the connections by hand. Let me tell you that nobody but me could have even dreamed of pulling this one off!"  
  
"Mom," Ryoko moaned crankily. "You make my head hurt. Stop talking." She weakly reached up and covered her ears.  
  
"Miss Washu, are you sure it worked?" asked Ayeka coming to stand by Ryoko. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulder as she bent to inspect her young friend.  
  
"Positive. She should really go back to bed, but I wanted you to see she was alright, since my security records showed me that you two haven't slept all night or moved from the couch all morning," Washu said turning the chair around and heading back to the lab.  
  
"Wait. Sasami would like to see her," Ayeka objected, looking back towards the kitchen.  
  
"I'm still me, right momma?" Ryoko mumbled. "I'm not mean?"  
  
"No, no, you're you. You are still my little Ryoko," Washu answered lovingly, turning the chair around. She turned and looked apologetic. "Not, right now. Tell her I'm sorry," Washu said pushing the chair back into the lab. "Ryoko needs her rest," she explained as the door shut behind them.  
  
Tenchi straightened up and shrugged. "I guess it worked," he said with a shallow smile, walking back to couch.  
  
Ayeka stood by the lab door, looking lost. "Yes, I'm glad, but It won't ever be the same."   
  
***  
  
A full day had passed since Ryoko's permanent change and life had started to move onwards. Tenchi was sitting at his desk working on what seemed to be a never ending physics assignment. He wore jeans and a soft grey turtleneck. The desk lamp gave the pale almond colored skin on his face a yellow tinge.   
  
"Um… hello?"  
  
Tenchi looked up from his homework to see Ryoko standing uncertainly in his doorway. It was the first time he had seen her since yesterday morning's brief appearance. She looked surprisingly recovered for someone a day out of major brain surgery.  
  
"Oh, hi Ryoko!" he greeted. "Come on in! How are you feeling?"   
  
She smiled and inched just inside his door, wearing a smaller sized version of her favorite old blue and yellowed stripped dress. Her re-grown hair formed a softly spiked bob that fell just below her sharp chin. "I feel okay," she peeped, leaning back against the wall.  
  
"You're looking better than yesterday," Tenchi observed, turning and sitting backwards in his chair so that he could face her. "And your hair has already grown back quite a bit!" It was final. This Ryoko was the only Ryoko and he was just going to have to get used to it.  
  
Ryoko ran a hand through her hair. "Mmm. Mom works fast…" she trailed off as Tenchi's smile suddenly brightened. "What?" she asked quirking up an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh. Nothing," Tenchi dismissed, not wanting to dampen her spirits with tales of the past. If he was going to help Ryoko, he had to keep his thoughts pointed to the future.  
  
Ryoko's other eyebrow joined its twin in the upper regions of her forehead. She looked so much like Washu just then, Tenchi felt compelled to tell her. "It's just nice to hear you call her 'Mom'."  
  
Her small face lost its happiness. "I wouldn't even call her 'Mom'?"  
  
Tenchi could have kicked himself for spilling. "Hey, I see you had Washu shrink that dress," he said quickly changing the subject.  
  
Ryoko gingerly touched her dress. "Shrink it? What are you talking about? I've always had this dress."  
  
"You have?" As he spoke, Tenchi wondered about Ryoko. It was as if someone had taken a baroque painting and reduced it to a minimalist sketch. A few lines remained to describe a once busy and bursting collage of life. Washu had told Ryoko about her love for him, and thus added a little more complexity to the picture, a bit more color. What did Ryoko think about that? What did she think about him?  
  
Ryoko ran her hands down the sides of the dress, smoothing it. "Yes, mom has one too. When I was really little we used to have matching dresses. We don't do that anymore, though mom wishes we did."  
  
Tenchi absently sketched hearts with his finger upon the chair back. "So why do you still wear that one?" Tenchi asked, when he really wanted to ask her if she felt anything for him any more, or even if she felt strange knowing she had once loved him.  
  
Ryoko pursed her lips. "It's silly," she said, sliding the tip of her tongue to stick out from between her lips.  
  
Tenchi shrugged. "You don't have to tell me." There was so much he wanted her to say, and he wondered if an old tactic of feigned indifference would make her talk.  
  
Ryoko rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "It's not a big deal. It's just that… well… we always wear this dress to go Startica shopping. So when I wear it, it makes me feel kinda special."  
  
Tenchi's eyes had taken on a far away look as Ryoko explained about the dress, his smile turning inward as if he were smiling at a distant memory that no one else could see.  
  
Ryoko took another step into the room, her hand fluttering to her heart. "Why do you ask? Did I wear this dress a lot? When I was older, I mean." She turned her face so that her hair slid over to cover one yellow eye.  
  
Tenchi half-looked at her. "You wore it nearly every day."  
  
"Everyday," Ryoko repeated, flicking her errant hair back into place with a shake of her head. "That's really weird. I only wear this dress for special occasions."  
  
That statement rocked Tenchi out of his romantic reverie. He wondered if Ryoko had found every day out of the cave and free from Kagato had been a special occasion. She had certainly treated every day like a big party where she was the guest of honor. What had once seemed irritatingly selfish to him took on the veneer of innocent enthusiasm.   
  
Tenchi watched as the younger Ryoko chewed on a lock of her hair as she thought about his words. In the face of his discovery, the guilt he felt for his selfish desire to have her return to her old self weighted down his stomach like a lead ball. "So what's today's occasion then?" he asked.  
  
She grinned and spit her hair out of her mouth. "If even half of what mom told me yesterday is true, it sounds like today is like a birthday. So, I wore my favorite dress to celebrate."  
  
"Happy birthday, Ryoko!" Tenchi laughed, liking the sound of that. Ayeka was right, Ryoko deserved this chance at happiness.  
  
Ryoko's smile grew hungry as she crossed her arms. "Thank you. And that brings me to why I came up here."  
  
Tenchi grew wistful. In the past she would have come up to his room with a very specific mission. One that he doubted was on today's agenda. "Oh right. Do you need anything, Ryoko?"  
  
She leveled a gaze at him, one that reminded him of her lusty stares in the past. Only this one wasn't seductive at all, just intense as her yellow eyes pinned him down. "You have something that belongs to me, Tenchi," she said as she padded into the room stopping very close to him.  
  
Her glittering eyes were even with his as he was sitting. He blinked. "I- I do?"   
  
"Yes. You have two of my gems. Since it's my birthday, we can pretend it's a present when you give them back to me."  
  
The seriousness of her request put Tenchi firmly in the here and now. He leaned away, putting some distance between them. He scratched his head, uncertain about giving Ryoko even more power. Innocent child or not, she probably still had a temper. "Well… I don't know…."  
  
Ryoko's smile was replaced by a familiar scowl. "What's to know? They are mine and I want them back!" She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently.  
  
"Uh…" Tenchi stuttered, the swift change in attitude unsettling him.  
  
Ryoko leaned forward so that her nose was almost touching his. "I was trying to be nice, because I like you. Don't make me get mad, Tenchi!"  
  
Tenchi just gulped, uncertain of what to do as he leaned back as far as he could, his back pressed against his desk.  
  
"What's going on in here?" Washu asked calmly as she entered the room. Her bright pink hair was unbound today and flowed freely down her back, the tips of it trailing behind her as she walked. She wore a green pantsuit with cargo pockets that brightly contrasted with her hair, making her almost painful to look at. "Ryoko don't get so close. What have I told you about personal space?"  
  
"Mom!" Ryoko called, backing up and turning around. "Tenchi won't give my gems back!"  
  
"Washu," Tenchi sighed in relief. "I don't know what to do. What should I do?" Giving the gems back felt too risky for him.  
  
Washu shook her head dismissively and turned to Tenchi. "I told you it wouldn't take long for her real personality to show." She looked to her daughter. "Honey, you haven't been out of the lab for over fifteen minutes, and already you've found some trouble to get into," She said, crossing her arms.  
  
"But, Mom!" Ryoko protested, stamping her foot. "They are mine!"  
  
"No 'buts'. Did your gem lead you here?" Washu asked her face schooled into an expression of that brooked no arguments.  
  
Ryoko nodded. "Please, let me have them back. They are important to me. They are from you," she implored.  
  
Washu's eyes sparkled, looking wet for a moment. Regaining control, she looked to Tenchi. "Such a con artist, still, I don't see that it will hurt anything. Ryoko had all three gems at this age and even before that as a child. I'm not surprised she missed them."  
  
Tenchi bit his lip. "But, a young girl… with all that power?" he worried aloud, sliding out of his chair to stand beside Washu. He waved his hands around to indicate the some vague and dire implication.  
  
Ryoko marched over to his dresser, selected a drawer, and yanked it open. "Hey, I'm not as young as I look. You're only a year older than me," she complained while rooting through his socks. "You have the Light Hawk Wings, I have the gems. What's the big difference?" She uncovered the Tenchiken and received a small shock when her finger tips brushed against it. "Ouch."  
  
"How did you know about the Wings?" Washu and Tenchi asked at the same time.  
  
Ryoko looked superior as she wrapped a long, white, tube sock around the sword handle's base. "My gem told me, of course! It can sense power like that, particularly when the other two gems are right in the middle of it." She picked up the Tenchiken, being careful to only touch the sock, and carried it over to Tenchi. "Don't your wings tell you about my gems?"  
  
Tenchi took the sword and gulped, the swallow visible all the way down. "No, not really." He removed the tube sock and set it on his desk. Things were moving awfully quickly and Washu didn't seem to be taking any steps to slow them down.  
  
Ryoko shrugged and twitched her hips in impatience. "Whatever. Can you please return my gems now?"  
  
Tenchi looked to Washu who just nodded, her amusement clear. "Okay then." Against his better judgment, he pointed the hilt of the sword at Ryoko and closed his eyes. He prayed that the gems would go to Ryoko and that they would keep her safe.  
  
Seconds later the gems left the handle and reappeared at Ryoko's wrist and throat. "Ohhhhhh yeaaaaaah!" Ryoko enthused and shot straight up into the air, flying through the ceiling and then back into the room, hooting and hollering the whole way. "This feels great!" she giggled weaving a lopsided figure-eight flight path between Tenchi and her mother.  
  
"Ryoko, stop that," Washu reprimanded sternly. She shook a finger at her daughter. "You have just had a major surgery. You need to be calm and rest."  
  
"But mom!' Ryoko argued, hovering above Tenchi's head like she was floating down a lazy river. "Having all the gems just tripled my healing factor! I feel great!"  
  
"Yes, the euphoria of a power rush feels good," Washu agreed wryly. "Good enough to mask pain. Come down from there and let's get back to the lab so I can run a diagnostic."  
  
"But it's my birthday! I get to do whatever I want on my birthday!" Ryoko protested with an attempt at a winning smile that just made her look plain conniving.  
  
"It is not your birthday!" Washu laughed straight from her belly. "Nice try!"  
  
"Well, it is sort of her re-birth day," Tenchi clarified, wanting to be a part of the joy Ryoko was feeling.  
  
"Thank you, my Tenchi!" Ryoko crooned, reaching down to tousle Tenchi's hair, causing Washu and Tenchi to both look at her with wide eyes. "So, what do I get for my birthday, Mom?" Ryoko tried again.  
  
"As you can see," Washu whispered out of the side of her mouth to Tenchi. "It doesn't take this girl long to bounce back." To Ryoko she said, "It gets you to the count of five to get your butt down here." She waited expectantly.  
  
Ryoko frowned. "I don't want to."  
  
"Five," Washu said flatly and the red light in Ryoko's gems dimmed and shut off causing Ryoko to squawk and fall from the air and land on her rear with a painful thump at Tenchi's feet.  
  
"Ow!" she moaned, rubbing at her behind. "That hurt, and I'm still healing!"  
  
Washu took Ryoko's elbow and dragged her to her feet so that they were eye to eye. "I thought you were all better, healed by the gems," she said into her annoyed daughter's face.  
  
"That only counts while I can access the power. You cheated! I bet I'm really hurt!" Ryoko whined, pretending to swoon.  
  
"I think you'll survive," Washu scoffed. "Well, if you will excuse us Tenchi, we will be going along now." Washu steered Ryoko, complaining all the way, through the door.  
  
"Bye," Tenchi said with a wave and a chuckle.  
  
"My head, my head… I think something was shook loose…" Ryoko groaned. Making sure Washu wasn't looking, Ryoko turned and winked at Tenchi. "My own mother…. It's abuse I tell you!" she continued as Washu all but dragged her down the stairs.  
  
Tenchi hugged himself as a warm feeling bubbled up from the pit of his stomach and flowed straight into his heart. She was still herself and he was still her Tenchi.  
  
  
As always, stay tuned for more!  
  
  
  
A/N: Since people have been leaving such helpful feedback, I thought I would address a few of the comments! Thanks to everyone for their reviews, it really makes my day to hear from you. Emails can be sent to shire@one.net. Thanks to my on-line writing partners, you guys deserve a reward for putting up with me!  
  
  
Archangel: Thanks for those thoughts. I will respectfully disagree with you on some points, though. ^_^ Yes, this story is similar to some of my other stories, but not the same. There is a real difference in that this time we get to see what happens when Ryoko is totally free from her past and is raised in a (somewhat) normal home. My gig seems to be writing stories about mother and daughter relationships with themes of the mystery of personhood mixed in for good measure. Since that's where my muse wants to go, that's where my pen follows. I agree that 'reality bumps' are annoying when reading. Though what triggers one person may not bother another. I personally think Ayeka is capable of speaking nasally in both the subbed and dubbed versions. It seems to be a side effect of sliding into her more formal mode. But this could be case of Potato, pahtahtoh. Keeping the characters _IN_ character is always a struggle, particularly when one writes and consumes copious amounts of fan fiction. I worry that my characters sound like more like their fan fiction incarnations than their canon selves. But Whatcha gonna do? Though, I think Tenchi is just as capable of being a little selfish as anyone else. Cartoons usually only let us see the outsides of characters and give us very little insight into their inner workings. Tenchi stands out in this way. I think we know the least about his internal motivations when compared to the rest of the cast.  
  
Chibi-D: I wish I could help you out, but don't count on me for emails about updates. I fear I am not organized enough to be reliable about that sort of thing. Doesn't ff.net have a feature that will auto-alert you?  
  
Negative-Z: I have some thoughts as to your question. Do you IM? These kind of talks work better in real time IMHO. Email me.  
  
Ministry Agent: I am so busted. *Laughs* Owning all of the Tenchi DVDs and having watched them countless times I really should know my continuity better than that! Then again, maybe it's all oozed together in one big, slushy heap of TENCHI content in my poor little brain. Also you said, "At the same time I get the feeling that this story is trying to go somewhere without trying to appear to do so. It seems to meander somewhat.". I couldn't agree more. This story has been driving me nuts since the get go. The rough draft finished at about 60 pages and as I wrote, the story kept changing directions and doing all kinds of funky things. I am posting it chapter by chapter, using the time between posts to polish and try to get it going in one direction. The rough draft probably should have been deleted and forgotten, but I hated to lose all of that work. So what you see here is really a salvage effort and I'm not at all surprised it shines through. I hope it gets better, buuuuut… who knows? Thanks for hanging with me.  
  
William: As always thanks for your help in disabling my 'delete' button as well as your help and creative support. It's nice of you to go on and review my chapters after all the help you give me already.  
  
UnholyDragoon: I put mucho effort into the visualizations this time, did it help? I always struggle with descriptions because they seem to interrupt the flow of action in my writing. I agree I need more so I tried. Better results? Worse?  
  
Strife: This Ryoko is a completely different character, so I would hope she would not seem exactly like the Ryoko we all know and love. I want there to be traces there, but that's it. 


	5. Getting To Know You

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
Chapter Five: Getting to Know You  
Cicadas sang out their hymn to the summer as the bright sun beat down upon the fields. Tenchi ran the back of a gloved hand over his brow, wiping the sweat away. It had been very hot this season, but today was the hottest yet. Wearing only a white tank top and brown cargo shorts, he raised his hoe and struck it into the hard earth of the carrot row. The dry soil was like a rock and he felt the shock of the tool hitting the baked dirt rebound back into his shoulder. He winced and shook his head to clear the fuzzy lines that danced across his vision. Maybe he needed a drink of water and a moment of rest in the shade.  
  
"… And that's why the people of this mountainous region terrace their land for agricultural purposes," Washu's voice lectured.  
  
Tenchi squinted against the sun and looked towards the sound of the voice. Washu and Ryoko were walking towards him along the edge of the field. Looking like young twin sisters, both wore their GA uniforms as Washu lead the way, speaking non-stop as the sunlight reflected off of the small glasses she wore perched on her nose. Both had their hair hidden up under physics-defying caps, with just their forelocks and bangs showing pink and blue respectively. Ryoko had a floating semi-transparent laptop under her fingertips and typed in notes as she walked keeping one eye on the path her feet were following.   
  
Tenchi smiled at what had become a morning ritual over the last month. Rain or shine, seven days a week, Washu attended to Ryoko's education in the morning hours. Often, like today, she incorporated local themes into her lectures. Usually, he only got to see or hear small bits of what was being taught, but today it seemed he was part of the lesson. Puffing up with a little self-conscious pride, he began to hack away at the soil as if it were an effortless task.  
  
"Because the Japanese have been farming this way for so long, whole ecosystems have evolved around the process. If the farming were to stop, several indigenous species might face extinction," Washu said walking past Tenchi without acknowledging him.  
  
Ryoko glanced up from her keyboard and made brief eye contact with Tenchi. Her brow wrinkled in concern. "Mother, I think Tenchi needs a drink," she said.  
  
Washu stopped in her tracks, her long coat brushing her ankles. Not turning around she crossed her arms in aggravation and cleared her throat.  
  
Ryoko stopped walking too, a small frown replacing her earlier serious expression. "Excuse me, Professor Washu," she said stressing the honorific. "I think Tenchi needs some water."  
  
Pleased that Ryoko cared, Tenchi glanced between the two of them with amusement as Washu shook her head and cleared her throat once more. Even if they looked the same in so many ways, the way Washu carried herself clearly indicated she was the sempai of the pair. Authority radiated out from her small form, telling all who was in charge.  
  
Ryoko's frown was joined by an irritated curl of her lip as she tugged on the pom-pom on her belt. "Little Washu?" she tried.  
  
"No!" Washu said petulantly.  
  
Ryoko banished her keyboard and crossed her arms, mirroring her mother perfectly. "Geeze! What do you want me to call you today?" she growled, glaring at her mother's back.  
  
"Don't get saucy with me, young lady," Washu said as her shoulders shook with silent laughter. She turned around, hands clasped under her chin, her features schooled into the cutest expression possible. "You can call me 'Professor Momma' today!"  
  
Ryoko staggered back, looking disgusted. "No way!"  
  
"Oh come on!" Washu pleaded, coming closer to her daughter. "It's the best of both worlds!"  
  
"No!" Ryoko shouted, backing up and pushing her mother out of her face.  
  
Tenchi leaned against his hoe and chuckled at their antics. He knew Washu was just jerking Ryoko's chain, just like she used to do. Only now he understood that Washu had just been trying to recreate moments like these.  
  
Washu slid an emerald eye in his direction, her playful smile shading into a calculating grin. "Tenchi, tell my daughter to show me some respect!"  
  
Tenchi pressed his lips together and mimed turning a key in a lock . He wasn't going to get dragged into this. They were so cute together, so different now, but so much the same. Without Ryoko's hate, these banters were silly and carefree. He noticed Ryoko scowling at him and winked at her. Well, maybe not perfectly carefree, but Ryoko being annoyed was a very different thing than Ryoko going berserk over a minor insult.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said on the tail end of a laugh. "Ryoko, she's just kidding, right?"  
  
Ryoko rolled her eyes, her hands firmly planted on her hips. "Nope. She's serious." She flicked her head so that her long forelocks fell behind her shoulders.  
  
Washu nodded at that. "Indeed I am. Come on, Ryoko, say it," she said expectantly a quirky smile pushing up the corners of her mouth.  
  
Ryoko puffed a breath upwards so it moved her bangs. She cast a baleful look to Tenchi. "Every class she teaches, she wants a new name to go with it. Right, 'Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe' ?"  
  
Washu shrugged. "An oldie but goodie, it's worth repeating from time to time."  
  
"Can we just get on with it?" Ryoko asked. "It's hot and Tenchi's thirsty!"  
  
"Not till you say it," Washu said tapping her foot.  
  
"No," Ryoko grumbled her entire body stiffening as if to show her resolve to be unmoved.  
  
"You'd better do it," Washu warned.  
  
"No way. Forget it," Ryoko said, pulling her feet up so that she was hovering in the air, sitting Indian Style, her face stubbornly turned away.  
  
Washu walked over to Ryoko, and laid a firm hand on her daughter's shoulder, her face suddenly serious. "Little Ryoko. Don't make this a battle of wills. You know who will win."  
  
Tenchi realized where Ryoko's stubborn streak had come from. He wondered that he hadn't noticed before. Keeping quiet, he wondered who would win, or if there was a way to win at this point. This was the kind of head to head conflict his Aikido training had taught him to avoid.  
  
"I won't do it and you can't make me," Ryoko said shaking her head.  
  
"Hmmm," Washu considered, tapping her cheek with an index finger. "If you don't, poor, poor Tenchi will have to suffer without a drink of water."  
  
Ryoko turned her head and made eye contact with her mother, her lips jutting out in a large pout. "That's not fair!"  
  
Tenchi looked to his canteen, keeping cool under the shade of a nearby bush. "Actually," he interjected, "I have…" he clipped off the end of his comment under Washu's glare.  
  
"Well?" Washu prompted. "His fate lies in your hands."  
  
Tenchi groaned, not liking being in the middle.  
  
"Mom," Ryoko pleaded, her cheeks turning pink.  
  
Washu drew up to her full childish height. "Oh! I see," she snickered, looking over at embarrassed farmer. "You don't want to say it in front of Tenchi!"  
  
"Mom!" Ryoko shouted, hiding her face behind her hands.  
  
"Oh that is so cute!" Washu beamed, letting out a happy cackle.  
  
"What ever, Professor Mama! Let's go!" Ryoko grumbled, touching her feet to the ground and marching past her mother.  
  
"Music to my ears," Washu swooned. She looked after her retreating daughter. "What about Tenchi's water?" she called.  
  
"Who cares!?" Ryoko shouted, walking even faster.  
  
Washu giggled behind a hand and gave Tenchi a thumb's up.  
  
Tenchi just shook his head. "Don't tease her too much, little Washu." Ryoko was embarrassed? About him? What did that mean? He watched as Ryoko started running then flying. Soon she was out of sight.  
  
"Afraid I'll ruin this budding little romance?" Washu teased. "Is my wittle Tenchi in love?"  
  
Tenchi used all of his control to stop the flush of blood he felt running to his cheeks. "Get real, Washu. She's just a kid." As if he could even think of that child romantically. Not that he could think of anyone that way ever again. Some days it felt like his best friend had died right before he realized he had loved her.  
  
Washu snickered then took a moment to adjust her spectacles. "No more of a kid than you are, ne?" she asked pulling a sports bottle filled with water out of a hyper-space pocket and offered it to him.  
  
"Whatever, Washu," he said more harshly than he had intended. Ignoring the water, Tenchi turned his back to her and resumed his work, hoeing the carrot rows with renewed vigor. He clenched his teeth as he put more power into the swings of the tool. Leave it to Washu to tease him. No wonder she used to drive Ryoko nuts. She could be completely inappropriate at times.   
  
"Now, now, Tenchi," Washu soothed. "It's not the ground's fault that you feel so conflicted."  
  
Still not looking up, Tenchi scowled as he heard her laugh again and begin humming as the sound of her foot steps went in the direction Ryoko had gone.  
  
He glanced over to see she had left the water bottle by the path. Too thirsty to disdain it, he picked it up and took a long swallow of water. He knew Ryoko wasn't the child she appeared to be, but was as old as some of his favorite classmates at school, nearly his age really. Even though she was wearing such a little body and spoke in such a ridiculous little squeak, she was a teenager, just like him. And her attitude was certainly one of a teenager.  
  
He didn't know what to think about Ryoko anymore. Some days he didn't think the same way twice. He had thought he had lost his old friend forever, and in many ways that loss was still with him, yet as the days passed he began to see that the best parts of her old personality were showing through more and more. As the shy, almost sickeningly sweet little girl had begun to relax and get to know her new friends, other parts of her personality had begun to peek through. She could still be shy and sweet, but she could also be selfish, demanding, and brash. It was as if his Ryoko was returning to him bit by bit. No, it was more than that. It was as if the softer side of his Ryoko, the one he had always known she kept so guarded was now allowed to freely show. He was beginning to understand that the Ryoko he now knew was the Ryoko that would have been if she had been spared her terrible past. It was becoming more and more difficult to cling to the memory of his friend as the 'real Ryoko'. The young lady he was getting to know was so vibrant and full of life, so right, that even he was beginning to be glad she had this chance at redemption. Then other hand, this child would never replace his Ryoko, no matter how wonderful she was. He had fallen for Ryoko with all of her flaws in place. They were part of why he cared about her so much. This new Ryoko could never fill the same place in his heart.  
  
He shook his head angrily. There it was again! Couldn't he just make up his mind? How did he feel about her?  
  
As Tenchi pondered, the soft sound of matter displacement alerted him to Ryoko's presence. He turned to see Ryoko looking up at him with a smirk.   
  
She pulled her cap off and released a cascade of blue hair that was now almost as long as her mother's. It reached the backs of her knees as she fanned herself with the hat. "So she left you the water. Good."  
  
"Hey, Ryoko," he greeted with a nod, holding out the water bottle for her inspection. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" He pushed his troubling thoughts out of his mind. For now, he would just concentrate on being this Ryoko's friend.  
  
"It's Saturday," she pointed out. "Everyone but me gets the day off." She scratched her nose in irritation. "That woman is a slave driver."  
  
Tenchi nodded. "But won't she get mad if she realizes you aren't paying attention?"  
  
Ryoko shrugged. "Nah, my doppelganger will fool her for now."  
  
Tenchi looked impressed. "Doppelganger. That's a good word!"  
  
Ryoko flushed prettily. "Isn't it? Lady Ayeka taught it to me."  
  
"She did?" he asked, inwardly cringing as he sensed where the conversation was headed.  
  
Ryoko nodded, stars in her eyes. "Lady Ayeka is very kind to me Tenchi. She is so pretty, gentle, and… and… wonderful!" she gushed. "There are times when I want to be a princess just like her!"  
  
Tenchi winced and tried to smile. Ryoko's current hero worship of Ayeka was a little bizarre. It was too hot for crazy conversations, so he headed for the shade of an old tree and motioned for Ryoko to come and join him.  
  
He sank down in the grass and leaned against the tree enjoying the relative coolness. "I don't see you as the princess type," he stated, wondering how she would react to that.  
  
She didn't join him on the ground, but instead stood, arms akimbo, and regarded him seriously. "I could be a princess if I wanted to," she said stubbornly.  
  
"Do you want to?" he asked, taking another drink of water.  
  
Ryoko looked at him for a long moment. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Not completely. I like the idea of being graceful and refined, but there's lots of stuff Ayeka isn't allowed to do. It's not a fair trade."  
  
Tenchi blinked, still phased by Ryoko's ability to cross back and forth between silly and serious with out so much as a breath. "What isn't she allowed to do?"  
  
Ryoko looked at him as if he was an idiot. It was a look he had received from Washu many times. "If you don't know, I'm not sure I can tell you."  
  
"Will you try?" he asked, taking a long pull from his water bottle.  
  
Ryoko thought for a moment, tapping her chin with an index finger. "Well, she isn't always allowed to say exactly what's on her mind. She has to be aware of her station and the importance people will give her words, Tenchi. She just doesn't speak for herself, she speaks for her empire. And that goes with everything she wants to do too. She has to be careful all of the time."  
  
Tenchi thought back to all of the times Ayeka had just been freely angry with Ryoko, and all of the times Ryoko and Ayeka had gotten dead drunk in the onsen. It became even more clear to him that in Ryoko, Ayeka had the one friend with whom she could be completely open and honest.   
  
As crow called deep within the bamboo grove that edged the forest, Ryoko walked over and leaned against the tree beside Tenchi. "I think Ayeka is wonderful, but I'm glad I don't have to live her life," she said at last.  
  
Tenchi smiled up at her. "I know Ayeka thinks you are pretty wonderful too."  
  
"Really?" Ryoko squealed, sounding even more like a little girl. "I want to be like her as much as I can!" She looked as if she might say more, but suddenly her cheeks paled. "Damn! Mom's figured it out! See ya, Tenchi!"  
  
Tenchi just waved as she faded from vision. He didn't have the heart, or the desire, to tell her that princesses didn't say 'Damn' out loud.  
  
***  
  
"Desu ne! Desu ne! Desu ne! Desu ne! Desu ne!" Ryoko sang along to the pop song as she flew around the living room. She had discovered Japanese pop music and seemed to be loving every sped-up second of it.  
  
As she zipped through the air her long hair streamed out behind her. Today she had braided her forelocks and tied the ends with cel phone straps pilfered from Sasami and Ayeka. One strap sported a 'Hello Kitty' charm and the other an anime character named Yuki in his rat form.  
  
"Itoshi no mai mai mai DARLING!" she sang, flying loop-de-loops over the rafter that had reportedly once been her bed. Her cute red and yellow skort set fluttered with her rapid movement, adding to the impression that she was just a streak of light bouncing about the room. Moving with speed only she could manage, she gulped down a swallow from a bottle of CC lemon between the chorus and the next train of lyrics.  
  
Still singing, Ryoko buzzed the empty couch and coffee table and swiped up the sound system's remote control and thumbed the volume up a bit more. "Ne ne motto tanoshii koto kara hajimemasen ka?"  
  
The door to Washu's sub-space lab slammed open, and the irritated scientist stomped out, soot smeared on one cheek and a golf club gripped tightly in one hand. "What is all this racket?" she demanded. She was looking unusually casual, wearing blue jeans and a green sweater. Her hair was gathered into a thick pony tail at the crown of her head all the better to showcase her pique.  
  
"Hora hora GOOD!" Ryoko sang at her, flashing by and planting a smooch on her mother's cheek before flying up, out of reach, and making circuits of the room's high ceiling.  
  
Washu shook the golf club at her. "I'm trying to think! Turn it down!"  
  
Ryoko shook the remote at Washu, both mocking her movements with the golf club and communicating who had control of the remote. She added a raspberry to the mix of insults and giggled, holding her belly as she turned over and over in a spin of laughter induced barrel rolls.  
  
Washu sighed in annoyance, narrowing her eyes as she caught sight of the soda bottle in Ryoko's hand. "Oh that's just perfect! Who gave you sugar?" she shouted against the music.  
  
Ryoko grinned wildly and planted her fists on both sides of her head, indicating two ponytails.  
  
"Sasami!" Washu called, walking briskly into the kitchen. "What did I tell you about giving her sugar?"  
  
The young cook looked up from the daikon she was chopping and giggled apologetically. "Isn't CC Lemon, just juice?" She wiped her hands on the carrot printed apron that protected her pink kimono and stepped closer to Washu. "Is this about the loud music?"  
  
Washu winced as the music crept up another few decibels. "How can that girl stand all of that distortion? Her hearing is better than mine and it is driving ME nuts!" She turned to Sasami. "Yes it's about the music and no, CC Lemon isn't juice, it's a soda, and anyway, it doesn't matter if it comes from juice or refined sugar. At this age, Little Ryoko can't process sugar very well, the Mass components of her system just don't know what to do with that particular chemical compound." As Sasami's eyes glazed over Washu shook off an annoyed look. "Its like catnip to a cat, Sasami," she simplified.  
  
"Opps!" Sasami giggled her mischievous grin communicating her enjoyment of the situation.  
  
"Oops nothing," Washu said sternly. "You may find it cute to see her rolling around out there, but it's not good for her. Please be more careful."  
  
"But I didn't give it to her," Sasami defended with a pout. "I told her no."  
  
"Then who?" Washu wondered. "She wanted me to think it was you, and I fell for it. So who?"  
  
Tenchi strolled into the kitchen, looking pained from the loud music. He wore sweat pants and a Tee shirt with frogs and an American beer printed on it. "What's with the golf club, Little Washu?" he asked eyeing her oddly.  
  
"Aha!" Washu trumpeted. "It's for whacking stupid boys who can't say no," she proclaimed hefting the club like a baseball bat and advancing on him.  
  
Tenchi backed up, holding out a hand to defend his head. "Wait. You see, all I did was…."  
  
"Get twisted around my daughter's pinkie finger?" Washu demanded, sounding more amused than angry. "Geeze, Tenchi, she is playing you like a piano!"  
  
Tenchi stopped backing up as his shoulders bumped into a wall. "All she wanted was a little soda. It's not like I got her some candy to go with it."  
  
Ryoko flew through the wall both hands wrapped around a chocolate bar as she chomped away on it.  
  
Sasami and Washu put their hands on their hips and looked at Tenchi.  
  
Tecnhi laughed nervously and scratched his head. "Uh, what I meant to say is that I didn't give her very much candy."  
  
"Tenchi!" Ryoko squealed, dive-bombing towards him with chocolate smeared across her lips. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for going to the store for me!" She blasted into him, knocking them both to the floor. She crouched over his prone form on her hands and knees, giggling.  
  
Tenchi groaned and pushed up on his elbows. "Ryoko, you promised not to tell!"  
  
"Did I?" she asked coyly and planted a wet smooch on his cheek. "Guess I forgot!" She kissed his cheek several more times, deaf to his protests, until Washu cleared her throat. Ryoko looked up from her pleasant task. "Mommy!" she crowed and launched her self at Washu, who knew better than Tenchi and planted her self firmly so as not to be bowled over.  
  
Ryoko hooked her arms around her mother's neck and let her self orbit around her for a few revolutions. "My mom is the best in the universe! I love you!" she crowed, stopping her spins and covering Washu's cheeks with kisses.  
  
Washu tried to look stern, but it was clear her resolve was crumbling under Ryoko's onslaught of affection. Her arms reached out and crushed Ryoko to her in a bear hug. "I love you too!"  
  
Ayeka came in the back door carrying a watering can, looking amused at the scene before her. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, setting the watering can on the floor by the door. Looking refined in her kimono of violet silk, she raised her hands to her ears and looked towards the living room. "Isn't the music a little loud?"  
  
"Princess Ayeka!" Ryoko squealed, pushing off from her mother and flying towards the first princess.  
  
"Stop!" Ayeka commanded, holding out a hand. "Is that chocolate all over your face?"  
  
Ryoko screeched to a stop and hovered in front of Ayeka. "Who cares? I want to give you a kiss!"  
  
Ayeka crossed her arms, looking very much like a big sister. "You may kiss me after you have cleaned your face." She looked to Ryoko's sticky digits. "And hands," she added.  
  
"But I want to kiss you now!" Ryoko said petulantly.  
  
"Ayeka," Washu called, wiping sticky slobber off of her cheek. "Just let her kiss you. Trust me."  
  
Ryoko, taking this as a green light, started to move forward, a huge grin splitting her face.  
  
"No," Ayeka said firmly, stopping Ryoko's progress towards her. "She needs limits, if we don't want a repeat of history."  
  
While Washu looked offended, Sasami quickly spoke up. "Sister, she's been eating sug…."  
  
Before Sasami could finish, Ryoko launched her self at Ayeka, knocking her down and kissing her right on the lips, leaving chocolate hand prints on the lapels of Ayeka's kimono.  
  
Ayeka pushed Ryoko off with an angry screech. "Down you demon!" she exploded reflexively, growing more angry as she looked down at the stains. "Do you know how much this cost?!"  
  
"Sister!" Sasami gasped looking stricken.  
  
Ryoko rolled back onto her haunches all color draining from her face as the harshness of Ayeka's tone penetrated her sugar daze. Her bottom lip quivered as a shimmer of liquid coated her lower eyelashes.  
  
The family stood there for several frozen moments as Ryoko pulled in difficult breaths.   
  
Ayeka's hand crept to her mouth and covered it in shame, as if trying to stop the exit of other harmful words. "Ryoko, please," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."  
  
A single tear spilled over Ryoko's cheek as she started to crawl backwards away from the princess. "You – you don't like me do you?" she choked, sniffing. "Tenchi said… Tenchi said that you liked me."  
  
Ayeka pulled up to her knees and reached for the receding girl. "I am very fond of you Ryoko. I just forgot myself."  
  
"I'm sorry about your dress," Ryoko whispered, looking down. "I hope I can afford to buy you a new one." She stopped her backwards crawl when she bumped into Tenchi who was still sitting on the floor.  
  
"The dress is fine," Ayeka protested. "I'm sure Sasami will be able to clean it."  
  
"Mmmm," Ryoko sighed a tear dripped on the floor by her knee.  
  
Tenchi got to his knees and rubbed Ryoko's arm. "Lady Ayeka didn't mean what she said," he said softly. "Remember what you said about how she needs to be careful with her words? You know it's hard to be careful all the time."  
  
Ryoko didn't look up at him, choosing instead to let her long hair shield her face. "You mean she slipped and told me what's really on her mind?" she whispered. "She thinks I'm a demon." She faded from view, the two phone straps falling to the floor as she left them behind.  
  
Washu rubbed her temple and approached the kneeling princess. "Ayeka," she began sounding exhausted.  
  
Ayeka buried her face in her hands. "I don't believe I said that." Her shoulders shook. "I cannot believe I would be so stupid!" She took her hands away, revealing her own teary eyes. "I swear I didn't mean it!"  
  
Washu bent forward, looking Ayeka in the eyes. "I know you didn't. We all know." She straightened and looked out the window, her eyes distant. "These changes are hard for all of us. Even for me. "  
  
Ayeka nodded. "I will apologize at once."  
  
Washu shook her head. "Don't worry about it, she's pretty resilient, and besides, she needs to sleep off the sugar, that made her react so strongly, I think. That and the fact she admires you so much."  
  
"M-m-me?" Ayeka stuttered.  
  
Washu sighed. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed yourself? She is very excited to meet real princesses, and she looks up to you, Lady Ayeka, if you can believe it. You have become something of a role model to her."  
  
Tenchi picked up an abandoned phone strap and ran his thumb along its smooth edge. "She was just telling me the same thing last week," he added. "She thinks the world of you."  
  
Ayeka indulged in another moment of shame, before schooling her face into an expression of regal dedication. "I shall not let her down again. I promised myself I would help her, and now I have even more reason to do so."  
  
Tenchi got to his feet and walked over to Ayeka and handed her the strap. "You already have helped her. Don't worry, she will forgive you."  
  
"Tenchi's right. Just keep being her friend," Washu said simply. "That's all she ever needed."  
  
"That's all I ever needed too," Ayeka whispered too low for anyone to hear.  
  
Later that evening Ayeka sat on the edge of the dock, soaking her feet in the cool waters of the pond, as the sky above her shone with an intense blue that heralded the end of twilight. As her dress was in the process of drying in the laundry room, was wearing a simple set of pink shorts and a mauve blouse. She felt the wooden planking vibrate with small footsteps. Guessing who it might be, she didn't turn around and gave her visitor the chance to make the first move. The footsteps stopped just behind her and there was a moment of silence.  
  
"Lady Ayeka? Are you busy?" Ryoko's meek voice inquired.  
  
Ayeka turned around and smiled at the youngster. Ryoko was ready for bed and stood facing her in her nightclothes and robe. "Please, just call me Ayeka," she said as gently as she could, willing the youngster to feel at ease.  
  
Ryoko bit her lip and shrugged. She reached into her pocket of her footed pajamas and took out a small box. Without a word, she held it out to the princess, a single fang worrying her bottom lip.  
  
The rising moon's pale light reflected off of Ayeka's purple tresses as she looked at the box. "What is that?"  
  
"It's for you," Ryoko said motioning for her to open it.  
  
Ayeka took the box and opened it carefully. Inside was a stack of folded paper money in surprisingly large bills. She looked to Ryoko. "I don't understand."  
  
"It's to buy you another dress," Ryoko said shyly. "I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you earlier. I hope it wasn't your most favorite dress."  
  
Ayeka closed the box and smiled. "There is no need for you to give me your savings. Sasami was able to remove the stains." She handed the box back to Ryoko, who, she noted was very quick to take it back.  
  
"Mom would have killed me," Ryoko said relief plain in her voice. "She has always told me not to spend my capital." Ryoko crammed the box back into her pocket, taking a moment to look at the stars just beginning to speckle the sky.  
  
"Wise words," Ayeka said, following Ryoko's gaze to the heavens. She saw the struggle on the girl's face and spoke to ease her discomfort. "Why haven't you invested that sum?"  
  
"A-ayeka?" Ryoko asked, ignoring the question. She looked down at the seated princess. "Do you like me? Did you like me before?" she asked carefully, the beginnings of tears in her voice.  
  
Ayeka held a hand out to Ryoko. "Ryoko, you have always been my friend. In the past we argued about many things, yet you always forgave me for my temper in the end."  
  
Ryoko cautiously took Ayeka's hand in her own. "I did?"  
  
Ayeka squeezed Ryoko's hand. "Yes, more or less. Will you forgive me again, for speaking to you so harshly? I did not mean those words."  
  
Ryoko nodded many times. "Of course!" She looked at Ayeka shyly. "Will you please forgive me for messing up your dress?"  
  
Ayeka grinned. "I've already told you, there is no damage done."  
  
Ryoko sank to her knees besides Ayeka and held the princess' hand with two of her own. "But do you forgive me for not listening to you? I should have listened," she implored.  
  
Ayeka covered Ryoko's hands with her free hand. "Yes, silly goose. It's all in the past now. We shall speak of it no more! Agreed?"  
  
Ryoko giggled a little. "My lips are sealed," she said, leaning her head on Ayeka's shoulder.  
  
Ayeka looked happily surprised at the intimate contact and moved her free hand to stroke Ryoko's rough hair. "Well then, let us get back to our discussion of banking. It is not wise to leave such useful resources in your drawer, or subspace-pocket or what have you, to gather dust instead of interest."  
  
"Interest?"  
  
Ayeka's eyes gleamed. "My young friend, let me introduce you to the concept of investment banking." This time around, Ryoko wouldn't have to steal to support herself.   
  
***  
  
The inside of Tenchi's room was warm and comfortable, cast in a soft golden glow from his study lamp as he sat at his desk working on his English vocabulary words. It amazed him that anyone would ever be able to fluently speak such a bizarre language.  
  
"Excuse me, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked as she rapped gently on the door frame of Tenchi's room.  
  
"Yes?" he responded, looking up from his homework to smile at her. It still threw him every time Ryoko knocked before entering his room. She had on her yellow and blue stripped dress and Tenchi wondered if she was starting to get any taller. It was hard to tell.  
  
She floated into the room, the tips of her toes barely missing the carpet. "I was wondering what you were doing." She peered over his shoulder. "And it looks like you are doing your homework. Again."  
  
He chuckled at the irritation in her voice. "Is there a problem with that?" He noticed she had been floating, so that's where the extra inches had come from.  
  
She chewed on the inside of her cheek before answering him. "It's just that you are always doing homework."  
  
"You have homework too, don't you?" he asked, twisting in his chair so he could better observe her.  
  
"Yeah, but I get mine done faster, way, way faster," she said looking a tad superior.  
  
"Ryoko," he said seriously. "You are the daughter of a genius. Of course you get your work done faster."  
  
She looked at his brown and tan shirt, clearly ignoring his comment. "Do you always wear that shirt?" Don't you have any other clothes?" she asked, teasing half-heartedly.  
  
Tenchi laughed. "I like this shirt. Now do you need anything? I really need to get this homework finished."  
  
"I'm bored, Tennnnchi," she whined, drawing his name out to three times its normal length, her voice sounding squeakier than usual. "My investments are moving predictably, mom's busy, Sasami is out shopping with grandpa, Mihoshi is asleep, and Ayeka is being all princessly right now."  
  
"I thought you liked being 'princessly' with her," Tenchi stated. "You guys didn't have another fight did you?" he asked with concern.  
  
Ryoko grinned and leaned against his desk. "Nope. Our last fight was about a week ago. It was about how risky my portfolio should be. You can guess how that went, right?"  
  
Tenchi tapped his pencil against his desk. "Let's see. You wanted high risk and she wanted low?" he guessed.  
  
Ryoko crossed her arms. "Wrong! Just the opposite! I don't want to lose my money, I've saved it for a long time!"  
  
"The riskier the investment, the higher the return is, right?" Tenchi asked, thinking back to his economics class.  
  
She smirked, and the expression sent a chill down his spine. He had gotten so used to her being just HER, that the little flashes of her old self startled him now. Or was he used to anything at all anymore? Ryoko constantly had him off balance. He was never sure if he was lamenting the loss of her or celebrating her new happiness. "What was that look for?' he asked.  
  
"That's a very simplistic way to look at the market, Tenchi. Shame on you. Mom and I plotted out the betas for high risk investments over the next twenty thousand years…"  
  
"Twen… twenty thousand?" he stammered, he stammered, remembering Washu's age. Is that how old Ryoko would get? Would they all out live him?  
  
"Well yeah, Tenchi. Investments are for the long term, you know. Anyway, over the next twenty thou, the general pattern is that high risk investments lose more than they gain," Ryoko recited. "And like I said, I don't wanna lose my money."  
  
"You told Ayeka that?" he inquired, wondering if the princess would buy it. Ayeka didn't brook many arguments when it came to financial matters.  
  
Ryoko nodded. "Yep, and she changed her investments down to medium risk, too. Just like mine," she said proudly.  
  
"She changed because of what you said?" Tenchi asked, amazed.  
  
"Well," Ryoko drawled. "More like she changed based on what mom said. Who wouldn't?"  
  
Tenchi laughed. "Good point. So if you and Ayeka didn't have a fight, why aren't you hanging out with her? Don't you two have a favorite TV drama on tonight?"  
  
Ryoko looked mischievous just then as she leaned over the desk and closer to Tenchi. "Well, you know I just love Ayeka, Tenchi, but she gets really weird about sex," she whispered confidentially.  
  
"Whaaaat?" Tenchi gasped, turning as red as a cherry, pushing back in his chair. They had been talking about banking! How had sex entered into it?  
  
Ryoko's grin deepened until she was showing off both fangs. "Not you too!" she protested. "I was just asking her how the Jurians did it and she turned the same color as you!"  
  
" 'Did – did it?'" Tenchi quoted in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, Tenchi, IT!" Ryoko said with a laugh. "You know - procreation?"  
  
Tenchi buried his face behind a hand and groaned. "I know what sex is for Ryoko."  
  
"Then why," she laughed, "are you so freaked out about it?" Her large yellow eyes gleamed with mirth as she took in Tenchi's flushing features.  
  
"Ah, didn't, ah, Lady Ayeka teach you that it isn't, ah, lady-like to ask those sorts of questions?" he asked lamely, kicking at the wall behind his desk.  
  
"That's the part of Princess-ness I just don't get," Ryoko retorted. "Sex is a natural beautiful thing, Tenchi. I want to know all about it!"  
  
"Y-you do?" he asked peeping out from behind his hand.  
  
"Well, yeah I do! I mean it happens with the flowers and the animals too. All you need is the male and the female DNA, and wahlah! You get a genetically unique specimen!" Ryoko's eyes gleamed as she caught her hands up under her chin. "Oh, and mom says that doesn't even touch on asexual reproduction!"  
  
"She does?"  
  
"Yup! Heeeyyy, I wonder if the Jurians bud or something? I bet that was why Ayeka was so upset! What do you think Tenchi?" Ryoko asked eagerly.  
  
Tenchi now had both of his hands over his face. "I think that I don't want to continue having this conversation."  
  
Ryoko giggled, and seated herself on the edge of Tenchi's desk. "Come on Ten-chan! It's just me, good old Ryoko, you can tell me how Humans do it, right?"  
  
Tenchi just groaned.  
  
Ryoko's back stiffened for a moment and her eyes flashed. "Mother!" Ryoko snapped. "That is so not true! And why are you eavesdropping on me anyway? You know I hate that! Hmmpf!" Ryoko looked back to Tenchi who had lowered his hands and was watching her with the beginnings of a smile twitching at his lips. "Um, did I say that out loud?"  
  
Tenchi nodded, not speaking for fear of laughing at her.  
  
Ryoko flushed. "Mom said that I was obsessed with sex because I was created in an atypical manner. She said I had issues," she said crooking her fingers in the air as she said the last word, giving it quotations. "Which I don't!"  
  
That was too much for Tenchi and laughter burst free, and he was soon holding his side because of the stitches.  
  
"Hey! Don't laugh at me!" she cried and whacked him on the arm. "I mean it, Tenchi!"  
  
"Sorry," he said between belly-laughs. "I just can't help myself!"  
  
Ryoko growled. "I'll give you something to laugh about, school boy!" She hooked her fingers into claws and began to quickly tickle his ribs.  
  
Tenchi's laughs became yelps and soon he was trying to dislodge her tickling digits from his side. "Stop! Stop that!"  
  
"No way!" she crowed, tickling him all the more.  
  
He tried to tickle her back, but she seemed immune and just laughed at his poor attempts to get revenge. He tried to pull her off, but she kept her elbows tight to her body and he couldn't get a good grip. The only way out was down, so he slid out of his chair and carried her with him as he fell the short distance to the floor. As they touched down, Ryoko's elbows popped up, and Tenchi discovered her ticklish spot.  
  
With out mercy he tickled her arm pits till she was fairly screaming for him to stop as they rolled around the floor, each vying for tickling superiority. "Say Uncle," he demanded.  
  
"Okay, okay," she wheezed. "Uncle."  
  
He looked down at her and realized he was lying atop her on the floor. Her face was flushed from exertion and her eyes were bright with mischief. She was so beautiful. Up this close, when he was just looking at her face, she didn't have the appearance of a little girl anymore. She looked just like she used to… so beautiful.  
  
"Tenchi?" she asked uncertainly. "You're looking at me in that weird way again."  
  
"Mmmm?" he asked, not really listening, watching the way her mouth moved as she spoke.  
  
"Tenchi?" she asked more urgently.  
  
"Yes?" He pulled his focus off of her lips and looked her in the eyes.  
  
"Is this how humans do it?" she asked with a smirk.  
  
He leapt off of her with a scream as Ryoko teleported away giggling.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko had been with the family, by her estimation, for six Earth months. It had been fun, that was for sure. The most fun she had ever had in all of the many places she had lived. She couldn't help but wonder, as the GA semester was winding down, when Washu would want to move again. They always moved between semesters as Washu's academic needs took them to new places. It was hard saying good bye to her friends, but it was always fun making new ones.  
  
Only this time, Ryoko hoped she had one more semester on earth. These friends were extra special, and she didn't want to say good bye. Even to that weirdo Tenchi who could make her feel guilty without knowing why.  
  
"Ryoko-chan, don't forget this is a timed test!" Sasami's voice came into Ryoko's reverie.  
  
"Oh right!" Ryoko jumped and hurriedly looked at her recipe.  
  
Sitting on a tall kitchen stool, Sasami watched closely as Ryoko carefully mixed together a brine for the pork tenderloin they had picked up at the butcher shop earlier that morning. Ryoko had her wild hair caught up in two pony tails, each at the side of her head tied with bright red pop-knots.  
  
"You know," Sasami began, "even though I'm testing you on your Home-Ec skills, you didn't have to fix your hair like mine." Even their outfits were similar, with Ryoko's pink dress being very similar to Sasami's typical house dress. Even more conspicuous was Ryoko's apron that has sported little crabs rather than carrots.  
  
Ryoko carefully sliced a lime in half and used a reamer to free the juices over a clear glass mixing bowl. She contrived to look innocent as she glanced up at her kitchen mentor. "But don't you think we look like sisters this way?" she asked winningly.  
  
Sasami shook a stern finger at Ryoko. "I am immune to flattery, even if I am cute!"  
  
Ryoko wiped her citrusy hands on her apron and reached for the salt cellar. She pinched four fingerfuls of salt into the lime juice. "Flatter you? I guess saying that you kinda look like beautiful-me is a compliment," Ryoko teased.  
  
Sasami laughed and tried to look stern. "Just don't forget the mustard powder."  
  
Ryoko turned around to show that she was already in the act of measuring out the spice. "Have faith, Sasami-chan."  
  
Sasami picked up a clipboard from her lap and made a notation. "That's minus two points for being too familiar with the instructor."  
  
"Oh man," Ryoko groaned.  
  
Sasami checked the kitchen clock. "And you better hurry! You only have 45 minutes left to complete the project."  
  
Ryoko quickly began whisking the ingredients together. "What is this? Iron Chef?" she complained.  
  
"Don't be mad, Ryoko-chan. You know that it was really hard for Washu to convince the GA to let me teach you this course. We have to follow the rules or you won't get the credits!" Sasami implored, clutching the clip board to her chest.  
  
"I know," Ryoko groused. "It's just weird, you being so strict."  
  
Sasami laughed again. "This is nothing! Be glad Ayeka isn't teaching you etiquette!"  
  
Ryoko giggled. "Point taken! In fact, I think…." Ryoko's words trailed off as she grabbed at her stomach.  
  
Sasami hopped off the stool, laying the clipboard on the counter. "What's wrong?" she asked as she hurried over.  
  
Ryoko leaned against the counter. "I don't know. My stomach just cramped."  
  
"Ryoko-chan?" Sasami asked uncertainly. "This isn't a trick is it? You are doing fine on the test so you don't have to do this."  
  
Ryoko turned hurt eyes over to her teacher. "When have I ever tricked you?" she asked gasping as another cramp hit her.  
  
Sasami looked bashful as she climbed off of her stool. "I'm sorry, it was just –just- something I remembered. Maybe you should sit down for a minute." She placed a hand on Ryoko's shoulder.  
  
"I think sitting will make it worse. Don't worry, Mom's on her way," Ryoko panted.  
  
"I'm sorry I said that," Sasami said quietly as they waited.  
  
"Don't worry about it. The old me, right?" Ryoko asked.  
  
Sasami nodded, looking downcast.  
  
"I was a real stinker, huh?" Ryoko asked through her pain.  
  
"As stinky as they come," Washu confirmed striding into the kitchen with a hand-held medical scanner at the ready. "But you couldn't help yourself."  
  
"But we still loved you," Sasami said earnestly as Washu ran the scanner over Ryoko's body.  
  
"Well, we tried to," Washu amended as she fine tuned a frequency and went back to scanning.  
  
"Stop being mean!" Sasami cried. "How can you even say that!? Don't make Ryoko-chan feel ashamed of her self. She couldn't help being that way, you said so yourself!" The young princess' eyes flashed and her cheeks reddened in outraged anger.  
  
"Sasami," Washu began, her voice sounding hurt. "I didn't mean it that way."  
  
"It's okay, Sasami-chan," Ryoko grunted. "I don't mind. Honestly, I don't. I didn't know her, this other me, so it doesn't hurt my feelings. Mom knows that."  
  
"I still don't like it," Sasami murmured under her breath. Composing herself, she turned to Washu. "What's wrong?"  
  
Washu nodded to herself as she read the ever changing readouts on the scanner's screen. "Well, it seems puberty is finally upon my rather short daughter," she announced. "Great news Ryoko, you're finally gonna get taller!"  
  
Ryoko groaned and leaned her head on the counter top. "Is this gonna hurt as much is it did the last time I grew?"  
  
"Worse," Washu confirmed. "This is likely your last spurt, so you have about two feet to grow in one go, not to mention the final maturation of your body."  
  
"Can you put me in stasis until it's all over?" Ryoko asked hopefully. "Like last time?"  
  
Washu's expression darkened. "Never ask me to do that," she said coldly, stepping back and distancing herself from her daughter.  
  
"But…"  
  
"Just don't, and don't ask me why," Washu said with a voice of ice. "I won't ever do it."  
  
Ryoko turned a pained and bewildered face to Sasami. "Don't they do that for pain on Jurai?"  
  
Sasami licked her lips and looked away, her knuckles going white because she was clenching her fists so hard.  
  
With a grunt, Ryoko straightened up and pushed away from the counter. "Okay, I get it. Because of my deep, dark, past, I have to stay awake through this. Fine, but I get dibs on the couch."  
  
Washu turned off her scanner and rolled her shoulders to ease the tension. "I can accelerate your growth so that it is over by tomorrow morning," she offered.  
  
Ryoko began limping towards the living room with an anxious Sasami supporting her. "Let me guess, it'll hurt more, right?"  
  
"Way more," Washu said taking Ryoko's other side and helping her to the couch.  
  
Ryoko eased into the leather cushions. "Time difference?"  
  
"Ten hours versus four days," Washu pronounced.  
  
"Speed it up," Ryoko decided. "I hate being shorter than Tenchi," she joked weakly.  
  
Washu nodded. "It will take me a couple of hours to get everything set up. Why don't you go to your room and get ready for bed?"  
  
Ryoko looked annoyed. "Do I have to move? Can't we do it here? I wanna watch TV."  
  
Washu took a hold of Ryoko's arm and helped her sit up fully. "Trust me, you won't be paying attention to the TV once we get going."  
Stay tuned!  
A/N: Don't worry, there's plenty to come! This chapter was hard to write as it was just a montage of scenes to help you get to know this version of Ryoko. They didn't really hang together in a linear way, no matter how I fussed at them. What you see here is as far as I got before I gave up! Sometimes you just have to be done, ready or not.  
  
Of note, it amused me that people found the last chapter to be shorter than the others. It was actually two pages longer. Hee hee! I guess time flys when you are having fun. That or the last chapter was very poorly paced…heh…. I'll pretend it was the former for my own sake! Now don't say that again, this chapter was TWICE as long as a typical ZT chapter – 20 pages!  
  
The song Ryoko is spazzing out to is called "Chokotto Love" and is by Morning Musume, A Japanese teen girl pop band. It is absolutely frenetic! I love it and am teaching myself to sing it in Japanese much to my husband's horror. If you can find it on Lime Wire or what have you, it's certainly worth a listen. The translated lyrics will be provided after my responses to the reviewers.  
  
Oi, let me plug a new Anime that I have been watching. "Fruits Basket". It's like Tenchi with the roles reversed (one girl and lots of boys) and less chaos. It's my new, second only to the Tenchi worlds, favorite anime series.  
  
On to my lovely reviewers. I thank everyone who reads my story and has taken a moment to comment. I might not respond to them all, but I hold all reviews dear to my heart as long as they are constructive. Anyone who wants to email me can do so at shire@one.net  
  
Crion – That's what I hoped the explanation of the dress would do! I'm glad it worked.  
  
Ministry Agent – Tenchi's a hard nut to crack in this story. I am trying to make him inconsistent within himself. Sometimes he's happy for Ryoko, sometimes he misses his old friend. He wants to support her, but at the same time he is grieving too. Add to that the fact that this new Ryoko is funny and engaging and you have one confused Tenchi. At least that's what I am trying for.  
  
alighthawk – I won't be leaving Ryoko as this hyper-teen forever. You can already see that she is mellowing out – well a bit maybe- in this most recent chapter. A lot of it has to do with her moods as well as how comfortable she feels around the family. For her to be really silly is a sign that she trusts them.  
  
The Entry Plug – I'm glad you like my Ayeka – phew! I think of you as the "good Ayeka writing" litmus test, so that means quite a bit to me. A conflict brooding – did you read my mind? *Zips her lips* Anyway, I agree with you that Tenchi's character development has taken a back seat to Ryoko's – despite all of my efforts. When I am writing this story Tenchi feels very distant to me, like a barge that has broken free of its tug boat. I keep trying to pull him in, but he always stays distant to the voice of this story. Did you notice that many of the scenes are from his POV? And even that doesn't seem to help. That's just how this story wants to be told I guess. Still, it's strange.  
  
Beagle-san – Thanks for the comments. You know I never really considered Ayeka's own victimization by Kagato before now. That's a really good point. One I will keep in mind for future fics.  
  
Artist: Morning Musume   
Title: Chokotto LOVE (Little bit o' love)  
  
words and music: Tsunku (nanka kimochi warui~)  
  
I tried to change my hairstyle just a tiny bit  
I want you to notice it just a tiny bit   
my dear Darling!  
  
I made myself strong just a tiny bit.  
I feel I've advanced forward just a tiny bit.  
My dear Darling  
  
C'mon why don't we start off with more fun things ?   
See see ! Good !  
Let's have a wonderful romance !  
Hey Hey! So you want a more touchy-feely relationship ?  
Hmmm, I don't think I can help you there... (that's right that's right)  
  
I looked up the character for love in the dictionary   
and added your name next to it.  
It's more fun together,   
Let's write the character for dream... (dot dot dot)  
  
I'll send you a tiny bit of mail by portable phone  
it's a tiny reminder of our friendship  
My dear FRIEND!   
  
C'mon It's OK to use simpler words.  
See See! Let's tell how we really feel about each other !  
Hey Hey! So, are you gonna stick with a less touchy-feely relationship ?  
I like it when you're modest. (Like you Like you !)  
  
When I remember the character for love   
the faces of my family came up first  
I'll go ahead just a little further  
My sweetheart, All you need is love ... (dot dot dot)  
  
Translated By: Brian Stewart &Takako Sakuma  
  
Translator's Notes: What a cute song! I am like all girlish over this song (-B) T: Kimochi warui~. Anyway we both love this song. Its like Korean dance pop. The (dot dot dot) portion, is in the original Japanese (maru maru maru) the way to say an elipses in the language. We opted to use the more accessible touchy-feely rather than "a relationship of strong stimulation". screams to Centigrade@BlandPlanet.com 


	6. Growing Pains

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
Chapter Six: Growing Pains  
  
The bus ride home from school always took ages. By the time he was climbing the stairs leading to his house, the last rays of the setting sun stained everything a deep red-orange, including the white piping along the seams of his black uniform. Sliding the front door open, Tenchi stepped inside and slipped his shoes off in the foyer. As he stepped up into the living room a terrible shriek assaulted his ears. Jumping back, he fumbled at his belt for the Tenchiken, but remembered over-late that it wasn't a typical part of his school uniform.  
  
"Do not be alarmed, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said as she emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea in her hands. Her long violet hair, typically styled neatly, was slightly mussed and her light blue robes had unusual creases at the knees.  
  
"What's going on?" Tenchi asked worriedly as another scream cut through the air. "Isn't that Ryoko?" At each cry, the young man flinched.  
  
Ayeka nodded, looking grim. "Yes, the poor dear is putting on a sudden growth spurt. Washu says that by tomorrow she will look like she did before she regressed."  
  
"All of that at once?" Tenchi shuddered. "Sounds painful." He looked to the lab as he heard Ryoko begging loudly for Washu to make it stop.  
  
"Terribly." Ayeka motioned to the slightly ajar door to the lab with her head. "We are all lending Ryoko moral support. Would you like to join us?"  
  
"Of course," Tenchi said falling into step with the princess. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't anyone call me at school?" he asked, sounding more cross than he had intended. It was difficult to remain calm as the thought of Ryoko returning to her mature state made his heart hammer in his chest, not to mention his growing concern for her well-being. Those screams painted a quick picture of agony.  
  
They entered the first layer of Washu's lab that showcased her beautiful gardens. As they crossed the wide space Ayeka looked to Tenchi with a wistful expression. "We did not call because there is nothing you could have done except to worry."  
  
Tenchi frowned at that, he hated feeling useless. "I just don't like to see any of you suffer," he said, sounding more like himself. "I would have joined you at her side." He didn't want it to look like he didn't care as much as the others did.  
  
Ayeka shook her head and lead him through an open wooden door into the residential area of Washu's domain. It was designed in an elegant style, making use of waterfalls and small streams that ran around the borders of the main room. "It would have been time wasted, I think. Ryoko isn't at her appreciative best at the moment," Ayeka said her comment punctuated by a string of curses screamed by Ryoko's childish voice.  
  
Tenchi whistled. "I didn't think she still knew all of those words."  
  
"Ryoko's room is this way," Ayeka said with a wry grin as she ascended a short rise of stairs. At the landing they passed through an open door onto what seemed more like a deck than a room. Ryoko's ceiling was naught but the open sky that sported soft white clouds and the pale crescent of a day-time rising moon. Instead of walls, the room had railings against which bramble roses grew and twined in a kind of living wall paper, behind which tall trees cast the room in gentle shade.   
  
Wearing an over-large night shirt, Ryoko was lying on a soft bed, half-covered by a heavy feathered quilt. Sweat beaded upon her brow and she had her eyes screwed shut as pain wracked her thin body. Wearing her nurse's uniform, complete with a white cap, Washu knelt by the bed and had a firm hold of Ryoko's hand as the others perched nervously on floating cushions.  
  
Tenchi's heart ached at the sight of her suffering. He hated to see anything hurt, but it seemed so unfair that Ryoko seemed to attract more pain than any creature he had ever met.  
  
"Gah, Mom, Mom, I've changed my mind. I want to do it the long way," Ryoko begged.  
  
Washu wiped Ryoko's brow with a cool cloth. "I've told you we can't change now, Honey. We just have to ride this out."  
  
"But it hurts," Ryoko gasped. "I didn't mean to cuss you out, please make it stop!"  
  
"You know I wouldn't punish you that way," Washu soothed. She looked up and noticed Tenchi. "Look who is here to see you, my little Ryoko!"  
  
Ryoko opened one eye a mere slit and looked. Upon seeing Tenchi, both of her eyes opened wide. "Tenchi!'' she shouted in her girlish voice. "You –ung- you won't be taller than me for long now!" she stated bravely, her body jerking with some spasm.  
  
Tenchi walked over and knelt by Washu. "I'm in trouble now," he said trying to sound cheerful. She hadn't changed yet. She still looked like a little girl. Would the change make her look just as she had before, or had Kagato altered even that in some way? Would he recognize her at all when this was all over?  
  
"You better believe it," Ryoko gasped out. "Oh…oh!" she screamed as she grasped at her thigh with her free hand.  
  
"Here," Washu said prying her hand out of Ryoko's vice-like grip and placing it in Tenchi's hand. "Hold this for me, I have to check something."  
  
Tenchi grunted as Ryoko squeezed with all of her considerable might. He wondered if an average human's hand would have been crushed by that squeeze as he picked up the cloth Washu had dropped and gently wiped at Ryoko's face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" He would take the pain if only he could figure out how.  
  
Ryoko didn't answer, but just blew through her nose as her bones moved. Tenchi winced as he heard them grinding in their sockets and for a second he actually felt the bones in her fingers elongate and pop.  
  
Ayeka joined him and handed him a cup of tea. "She said she wanted this earlier."  
  
Tenchi took the tea with a murmur of thanks. "Hey Ryoko, I've got your tea."  
  
Ryoko whimpered and shook her head. "I don't want it," she whispered her voice sounding strangely caught between two keys.  
  
Trying to distract her, Tenchi pressed on. "But Lady Ayeka made it just for you."  
  
"I DON'T WANT THE GODDAMNED TEA!" she shouted, beginning in that strange voice and ending in a rich tenor that made everyone in the room sit up a little straighter. Her voice had changed from its girlish tones to the sounds they all remembered so well, the cursing providing the perfect context for its re-emergence.  
  
Tenchi handed the cup back to Ayeka as Ryoko began to sob, heaving in great lungfuls of air at an alarming rate. He gently stroked her cheek, afraid that any touch would hurt her, but wanting so much to comfort her. "Try to breathe through your nose," he advised, thinking about his own breathing training from kendo. To hear her voice again, but in such distress, was like tasting honey over broken glass.  
  
"Washu! She's hyperventilating again," Ayeka called her voice sharp with worry.  
  
Washu hurried back into the room with a small device in her hands. She stopped short of the bed and took in a shaky breath of her own. Her bright eyes spoke of some inner panic she was wrestling with as she watched her daughter writhe on the bed. Unknowingly following Tenchi's advice she drew in a long breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. "This is too much, too much for her to bear."  
  
All eyes turned to her with looks of concern and fear. When Washu said it was too much, that meant Ryoko's limits had been reached and probably passed.  
  
Washu took another step towards the bed. "Ryoko, honey, you were right. I'm going to put you in stasis until this is over."  
  
Ayeka's eyes widened but she said nothing. Sasami let out a little gasp and clutched at Ryo-Ohki. Tenchi noted these reactions, but did not understand them. Obviously, they knew something he didn't. Something serious was going on. Very serious, indeed, for his grandfather's back had gone stiff and his eyes took on that narrow look he reserved for sparring or battle. Even Mihoshi took on the look of a suspicious cop.  
  
"The pain levels are too high. This is torture. I should have never suggested the acceleration," Washu murmured to no one in particular. "Is it okay, Sweetie? Can I put you in stasis?" she asked nervously, her thumb shaking as she held it poised over a button.  
  
Ryoko stared imploringly at the small scientist. "Please. Please. Please, Mommy. Do it."  
  
"I promise to keep you safe this time." Washu puffed out her chest and walked the rest of the way to the bed. "Tenchi please go stand by your Grandfather now."  
  
Tenchi rose to his feet and backed away, looking between Washu and Ryoko with concern in his kind, brown eyes. Washu was acting like this was a funeral. What was going on?  
  
Washu bent down and kissed Ryoko's forehead. "I love you." She pressed the button, and Ryoko's body went limp as pale green light surrounded the bed.   
  
Washu shivered, dropping the box as she hugged herself tightly, almost collapsing into a seated position on the edge if the bed. "Will you help me keep her – us- safe?" she whispered to her friends.  
  
Not knowing quite what was happening, Tenchi Masaki joined in the vigil with his friends and family. Whatever Washu feared would never get past him. His Ryoko wasn't about to get hurt anymore than she already was.  
  
***  
  
Ryoko murmured and turned over in her bed, the soft sheets rustling as she moved. As she lay there enjoying a hazy feeling of sleep and comfort, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath of the rose-scented air of her bedroom. The artificial sky that stretched over her was a deep cobalt spangled with the twinkling of her favorite constellations all jumbled together just as she had programmed them, despite, or even because of, Washu's annoyance at their incorrect positioning.  
  
She stretched and frowned as the dull throb of an old pain flared in her joints and muscles. Why did it hurt? She pointed her toes and rotated an ankle taking in the mild but clear signs of fatigue and stress. What had happened?  
  
As sleep cleared her mind, memories of painful growing and twisting came back to her. Suddenly anxious, she shot up in bed, the sheets still clutched about her, and gasped as her back twinged.  
  
"I'd take it easy if I were you," her mother's voice spoke out of the dimness. "You've only been out of stasis for three hours and I'm sure your soft tissues haven't healed completely yet."  
  
"Mom!" Ryoko cried, her eyes finding the silhouette of her mother sitting in a chair by the bed. "Is it over?" She was conscious of the swells of flesh under the arms that held the sheet to her chest as she spoke.  
  
Washu's shadow nodded. "The process is complete."  
  
Ryoko fought an urge to lift the sheet and peer down at her changed body. "Am I okay? I think I sound funny." Instead of looking at herself, she squinted at her mother, her dark adapted eyes taking in more details of her appearance.  
  
"Of course you are!" Washu blustered with mock indignation. "Just who do you think you are talking to?" She clasped her hands in her lap, looking collected in a green turtle neck and tan slacks. "Seriously, you are fine. The pain should be almost gone, and what's left will be gone in a couple of days. As for your voice, it has finally lost its squeak."  
  
"Now maybe people will stop treating me like a six year old," Ryoko enthused, then gave in to the urge to examine her body and let the sheet drop. She had worn a too-large sleep-shirt on purpose, but still her breasts stretched out the fabric. She forgot about her voice as she whistled in amazement. "Wow."  
  
Washu followed her glance and smirked. "Uh-huh."  
  
"Am I taller than Tenchi?" Ryoko asked changing the subject before Washu had a chance to come up with any embarrassing comments.  
  
"Just by a few centimeters."  
  
"Yes!" Ryoko exalted, pumping a first into the air, quickly regretting it as the joint in her shoulder flared in pain.  
  
"You really should try to keep still," Washu chided as Ryoko rubbed her shoulder. "And it won't be long before his height catches up and passes yours. He is still growing, and you've stopped for the time being."  
  
"I'll still be taller than you now," Ryoko gloated, her rich voice matching the twinkle in her eyes.  
  
"And I still am your mother, and able, and ready, and willing to keep you in line, just like before," Washu warned looking strict. "So don't get any ideas."  
  
Ryoko laughed and flicked her hair. "Do you think I'm stupid or something? I have enough work with out 'punishment' astrophysics problem sets."   
  
Ryoko paused a moment, thinking, her mood darkening. Her breasts were big, she was taller than Tenchi… she must look like the person everyone remembered her as. Not daring to look at her mother, she whispered, "Do I look like I used to?"  
  
"Exactly," Washu said bluntly. "Your voice even sounds the same."  
  
"Oh," Ryoko said softly. She looked like the rude, mean, trampy person she used to be once upon a time. Did that mean Ayeka wouldn't want to be her friend anymore?  
  
"That shouldn't come as a surprise," Washu said in a gentler tone. "I wouldn't dwell on it."  
  
Ryoko's gaze traced the petals of a rose near her bed. Would this change the way everyone treated her? She didn't want to lose her friends. "Mmm…. So, will this be the last growth cycle?" Maybe if she changed again, to an even more different look, she wouldn't have that problem.  
  
Washu looked away in regret. "I wish I could say it was, but you have a least one final maturation stage, maybe two."  
  
Ryoko groaned with disappointment. She was stuck as she was.  
  
Misunderstanding, Washu reached out and patted her daughter's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much, little Ryoko. They will be your final adult stages, mainly concerned with reproduction, and not nearly as extreme as your changes from where you were to where you are now. It will hardly hurt at all."  
  
Ryoko wrinkled her nose. "Reproduction?" she said with a hint of distaste. "I don't even want to think about that." Sex in theory, or in jokes, was one thing, but doing it? Having babies? She shuddered at the thought.  
  
Washu chuckled, and peered into her daughter's face. "As far as you are concerned, neither do I. I'm not ready to be a grandma just yet."  
  
They both laughed at that, with Ryoko's laughter carrying more embarrassed tones.  
  
"I just can't see you with the patience required to be a mommy," Washu teased with a cackle.  
  
"I have to find someone to love first," Ryoko said dismissively, trying to end the conversation.  
  
Washu's face grew somber. "You don't love anyone right now?" She almost sounded disappointed.  
  
Ryoko ducked her head, touching her chin to her chest. "You want me to be in love with Tenchi, don't you?"  
  
Washu kept silent, clearly uncomfortable with the truth of the statement.  
  
"I listen to people, you know?" Ryoko said softly. "No one ever says anything to me, but they all seem to be waiting for me to do…do…" she faltered here. "To do something rude to Tenchi, I guess." She laughed hollowly. "I didn't think that's what love was."  
  
"Ryoko, it's just that people have certain expectations, they can't help it. Of course that's not what love is," Washu said, examining her fingertips.  
  
"This is all because of the way I used to act right?" Ryoko asked gesturing at herself with a sweep of a hand. "That's why they think those things about me." And it's only going to get worse.  
  
Washu bit her lip and looked past Ryoko's shoulders as if remembering. "That was a big part of your personality. You didn't know how to show Tenchi you cared from him, so you tended to come on a bit strong."  
  
"Now that I look like this again, they will all think that about me even more," Ryoko sighed. "I want them to know who I really am." I want them to like me.  
  
Washu slid from her chair and took a seat on the edge of the bed. She gathered Ryoko into a hug, her small arms having a difficult time reaching around her daughter. "I know who you are, Honey." Washu stroked Ryoko's spiky hair. "I thought we had left these self doubts about who you were and who you now are behind you months ago."  
  
Ryoko laughed with self deprecation. "Yeah, that's before I grew these melons."  
  
Washu tightened her hug. "Those are from my genes, so you can know you got them honestly. Becoming a woman doesn't change who you are on the inside. They will figure that out."  
  
Silence hung between them for long moments as they held each other. Words weren't going to ease Ryoko's doubts at this point, so they both stopped talking.  
  
After a while Ryoko asked a question that had been plaguing her since she had started this growth spurt. "Mom, is this how it happened? Did Kagato get me while I was in stasis? Is that why you wouldn't do it at first?" It had been very odd for Washu to just let her suffer, even a little.  
  
"Yes," Washu bit out, her body stiffening. "He did it while you were helpless and I was distracted."  
  
So that was it. Ryoko pulled back and smiled gently at her mother, wanting to make her feel better. "Today is really like starting over, isn't it? The first day as things should have been?" Despite her fears of being rejected by her friends, this was even more important. Here was her chance to make up for her bad behavior towards her mother. How her love for Washu had been stripped away from her was beyond understanding. That it had happened broke her heart, and she wanted to atone.  
  
Washu laughed, a few stray tears spilling over her eyelashes. "Yes," she said wiping them away. "Today is the beginning of our second chance."  
  
Ryoko's smile grew until it seemed to touch her ears on either side. "Then I don't care if everybody expects me to be a certain way. I will be myself, and show them that this daughter loves her mother." She went in for another hug, willing Washu to believe her, hurting that her mother was crying because of her.  
  
Washu returned it fiercely, her fingers catching in the sheet that surrounded Ryoko. "Stop making me cry," she half-demanded as she sniffled.  
  
"I love you," Ryoko whispered into Washu's hair. "Thanks for taking care of me today."  
  
Washu's body trembled and she squeezed her daughter tightly, eliciting a strangled cough from the teenager. "Sorry," Washu said letting go and cleaning her cheeks of more tears.  
  
"I forget that you can be as strong as me if you want," Ryoko said ruefully rubbing her rib cage, happy for the distraction. Anymore of this and she'd start crying too.  
  
Washu got to her feet and used a knob on the trellis to turn up the sky, so that the light of a gentle dawn filled the room. "That's enough emoting, don't you think?" She turned to Ryoko and put her hands on her hips. "Why don't you get dressed so we can go show everyone you are all right? Tenchi alone has been in here five times since we ended the stasis, checking up on you."  
  
Ryoko got out of bed with a stumble, catching herself on the bedpost. "Oops! That feels different," she said and summoned her blue and yellow striped dress. It fit her too snugly and was too short. A couple of tries later, she had it correctly proportioned and draping over her form. "About, Tenchi," she began hesitatingly, letting go of the bedpost and trying her balance without supports.  
  
Washu watched her expectantly, and crossed her hers. "Mmmm?"  
  
"I don't want to hurt him," Ryoko began, smoothing down her dress. "I know he will be happy to see me like this. I like him a lot Mom, but I don't love him… at least I don't think I do. He is one of my best friends." She cast a tortured look to her mother. "Do I have to make myself love him?"  
  
Washu looked torn for a moment. She uncrossed her arms, licked her lips and started out of the room. As she exited she looked back over her shoulder, pausing for a moment. "That kind of love won't do either of you any favors."  
  
"But, what if he wants me to love him? What do I do then?" Ryoko pleaded.  
  
Washu had left the room. It was almost as if she couldn't stand sharing space with the topic at hand. "Just do what comes naturally, it will all work out one way or another," her voice said, losing volume as she walked away.  
  
"What does that mean?" Ryoko shouted after her.  
  
"It means follow your heart. Now, ignore your hormonal emotions and get your butt out here so you can make an appearance and the rest of us can all go to bed!" Washu called back.  
  
Ryoko covered her heart with her hands. "It would help if I knew where it wanted to go."  
  
Washu, with the sharp ears of every mother, heard and shot back, "It wants a midnight snack made by Sasami! COME ON!"  
  
***  
  
Tenchi threw a kernel of popcorn into the air and tilted his head back to catch it in his mouth. As he crunched it, he used the DVD remote to fast forward through the rental disk's commercials and previews. He was lounging his old favorite blue jacket with the first character of his name embroidered in red at his shoulder. He rested his white sock covered feet on the coffee table.  
  
"Nice catch," Ayeka complimented, bringing in a tray of sodas and setting it by his feet. She looked delightfully cool in aqua culottes and a teal blouse, accented by sea-green hairclips that winked with little inset stones. Only her orange house slippers didn't match.  
  
"Thanks," Tenchi said, sheepishly removing his feet. She hadn't said anything, but Tenchi knew Ayeka didn't approve of feet on the furniture. "It took me forever to learn that trick."  
  
"Really? I would have guessed it would be a simple task for someone with all of your sword training," Ayeka said, fussing with the drinks on the tray. "Your reflexes are so quick."  
  
Tenchi watched her curl into a corner of the couch while scratching the back of his head and laughing. "Well, I learned how to do it before I started training with grandpa."  
  
"Miya!" Ryo-Ohki cried running in through the glass of the sliding doors. She jumped up on the table and sniffed at the bowl of popcorn.  
  
"Hi Ryo-Ohki!" Tenchi greeted. "Those aren't carrots. Where's Ryoko?" he asked patting the cabbit's head. "She wanted to watch this movie with us."  
  
The furry creature pointed back the way she had come with a long, floppy ear.  
  
Ryoko waved at them through the glass as she flew in from the lake, her pale lilac dress billowing around her. She alighted awkwardly on the deck and moved to phase through the glass doors.  
  
Tenchi winced guessing what was coming, but hoping she had mastered this new difficulty.  
  
THWACK! She smashed her face into the door instead of sliding through it. Rubbing her nose, she grimaced and tried again, this time making it through, only to trip over an ottoman.  
  
"Wah!" she cried as she landed at Ayeka's feet, a jumble of arms and legs.  
  
"Oh my!" the princess exclaimed, clearly restraining a laugh. "Are you alright?"  
  
Ryoko rubbed her nose. "Yeah. This new body is still taking some getting used to." She got up and climbed onto the couch beside Ayeka, tucking her feet under her. "It takes a different amount of energy to phase, fly, teleport – everything! And my balance is all weird now."  
  
Tenchi chuckled, happy to hear her speaking in what he thought of as her 'real' voice. "I'll say it is. You seem to fall down more than you get up," he teased while being very aware of Ryoko's adult form. She looked just like she used to, with the exception of her more innocent facial expressions. More than ever, he was struggling with cognitive dissonance. He was becoming attached to her as she now was, but still found himself disappointed when her grown body didn't latch onto his at every turn. Now that she kept her body politely from touching his, he yearned for the slightest touch.  
  
Ryoko frowned at his teasing remark then smirked. "Well, I'm awfully top heavy now, don't you think, Tenchi?" she asked jutting her chest out. "You ought to try moving around with these things up top."  
  
"Well…well… uh," Tenchi stuttered, he had been trying not to look at those. She was very sensitive to his stares, and he didn't want to be accused of looking at her weirdly anymore. But she made it so difficult not to look when she acted this way!  
  
"Now… now… Miss Ryoko," Ayeka joined in, turning a bright pink.  
  
"Ha! Ha! I got both of you!" Ryoko laughed leaning over for some popcorn, and almost toppling over the coffee table. She caught her self with a well placed hand and pushed back onto the couch. "Geeze."  
  
Washu strolled into the room and took in the scene. She had her cargo shorts on and was lightly singed around the edges, as if she had been caught in a minor explosion. "What's going on in here?" she asked glancing at the strangled faces of Ayeka and Tenchi.  
  
Ryoko patted the empty seat next to her. "My balance is still all screwed up," she reported.  
  
Washu nodded. "I meant with them," she said pointing to the two who seemed frozen in a haze of wide eyes and red cheeks.  
  
Ryoko giggled, and picked at one of a long row of pearly buttons that lined the front of her dress. "The usual. The dynamic duo is embarrassed again."  
  
Washu sat next to Ryoko. "What did you do this time?" she asked with grin that said she had already guessed.  
  
"I mentioned my BREASTS," Ryoko said in a theatrical whisper.  
  
Washu cackled. "That sounds about right." She reached out and gave Ryoko's breast a firm pat. "At least you're not sagging yet!"  
  
"Mom!" It was Ryoko's turn to blush. "Don't do that in public!"  
  
Tenchi and Ayeka erupted with laughter, Tenchi holding onto his gut and Ayeka laughing behind her hand as their embarrassment was turned back on its source.   
  
"Mother's need to track their daughter's development, you know!" Ayeka teased, half -quoting something she had once heard Washu say.  
  
"You brought this on yourself," Tenchi added with a chuckle.  
  
Ryoko popped into the air and hovered above the couch, sitting Indian-style with her arms crossed. A dark purple version of her cat's tail belt twitched in agitation. "Hey! Stop laughing at me!" she demanded.  
  
Washu, now laughing herself, winked at her daughter. "If you want to dish it out, you have to take it too!" she lectured, wagging a finger at Ryoko.  
  
Ryoko huffed. "Fine! Whatever! Just keep your hands to yourself!" Her cheeks were redder than Tenchi's and Ayeka's had been.  
  
"Is my little Ryoko embarrassed?" Washu goaded.  
  
"Stop calling me that! I'm not little anymore! I'm all grown up!" Ryoko protested, her tail puffing out.  
  
"Just your body is grown," Washu pointed out while digging into the popcorn. "Your mind is just like it was three days ago: Know-it all, brash, and confused."  
  
"Now, Washu," Tenchi placated, seeing Ryoko's eyes tear up. "Don't egg her on."  
  
Washu relented, but couldn't seem to help getting in the last word. "She will always be my little Ryoko, right honey?"  
  
"Mooom," Ryoko whined. "I don't wanna watch this movie anymore." She pouted for a moment, then teleported out of the room.  
  
Washu smiled gently at the spot her daughter had just vacated. "Teenagers are so touchy. But not nearly as touchy as ex-space pirates used to be, thank goodness."  
  
Ayeka brushed a few popcorn crumbs from her lap. "Maybe we shouldn't have teased her so much."  
  
"No, you guys were fine. She needs to learn how to deal with people. Something she didn't really get a chance to do last time," Washu said firmly. "This is good for her."  
  
"But she seemed upset," Tenchi worried, thinking of the tears in those big yellow eyes.  
  
"It's all of her new hormones. She'll be fine," Washu said, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "This is typical teenage girl stuff."  
  
Tenchi looked over to Ayeka with a raised eyebrow. "Did you go through this Ayeka?"  
  
Ayeka dipped her head and laughed softly. "Of course I did, I just didn't do it all at once."  
  
Tenchi nodded. "I see. So this really is normal?"  
  
"Why don't you go check on her, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka suggested, answering his real question. "You will see that she is surviving."  
  
"I think I will. The roof?" he asked Washu.  
  
"Some things never change," Washu said with a small smile. "But, uh, Tenchi…" she began.  
  
Tenchi got to his feet and looked to Washu. "Yes?"  
  
Washu licked the fine grains of popcorn salt off of a finger. "Just give her plenty of space, 'kay?" she said lightly.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, reading between the lines with a sinking heart. Was Washu telling him to back off? What did she know that he didn't?  
  
"She's confused, try not to make it worse," Washu said, abandoning her attempt at levity and pinning him with her eyes. "She didn't turn back into her old self, just because she got taller."  
  
"I know that," Tenchi said defensively, an embarrassed flush warming his cheeks.  
  
Washu relented and softened her gaze. "Good. Treat her like you would treat any of us, and you both will be fine.  
  
Tenchi nodded and padded out of the room and into the foyer. As he slipped his shoes on, he wondered what Washu was really talking about. Had Ryoko said something to her about not liking him? His heart twisted as the possibility of her indifference crossed his mind. He had accepted that he had been in love with the old Ryoko. These days, he held onto hope that a more natural relationship might develop between the two of them. That perhaps, his meeting this more innocent Ryoko was the way things were meant to be after all. He was already immensely fond of the person she was becoming, despite how much he missed her last incarnation. What if she didn't like him though? The possibility had never really crossed his mind before. What would he do if that were true?  
  
Feeling the first sting of tears in his eyes, he pushed the unhappy thoughts out of his mind and focused on the problem at hand. Ryoko's feelings had clearly been hurt. What could he say to help his friend feel better? Touchy girls were not his specialty despite the practice he was currently getting. He sincerely didn't want to make things worse.  
  
Tenchi made for the side of the house where they had once affixed an old ladder. It had been easier to leave it up as going to fetch Ryoko from a pout on the roof had become almost a daily routine. This was the first tine he had used it in months. He slowly worked his way up the ladder and presently Ryoko's back and mane of wild hair came into view. She was sitting facing the other way and hadn't acknowledged his presence, though he figured that she probably knew he was there.  
  
"Ryoko? Can I join you?" he asked softly.  
  
She turned her head a little and looked back over her shoulder at him the twinkle of tears shimmering in her eyes. She nodded and turned back around trying to discreetly wipe them away.  
  
"Aw, don't cry," he soothed as he carefully walked up the peak of the roof and took a seat next to her.  
  
"I'm not crying," she said in a watery voice.  
  
"Oh," he said helplessly, wondering what to do or say next.  
  
"Tenchi, I look like her now, don't I?" Ryoko asked looking carefully away from him.  
  
Tenchi knew who she meant. "Yes." He couldn't lie, not to her, not ever.  
  
Ryoko carefully tucked a blue forelock behind her ear. "My body feels so weird. Everything looks different from this height, none of my clothes fit anymore unless I recalibrate them, and I feel so emotional all the time. Mom said it will all sort itself out, but I'm worried."  
  
"About what?" Tenchi asked, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, almost removing it when she slightly shrank away from him. His hand felt like it had been stung, but he kept his it on her shoulder almost desperately.  
  
"Maybe, just maybe I'm turning back into her," she choked.  
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi started.  
  
"Wait!" she cut him off. "I've been thinking about this a lot. What if the changes in my body unlock the prison mom locked that demon into? What if she gets out and takes me over?" Ryoko asked in disgust. "She sounded terrible! I hate her!"  
  
Tenchi's gentle touch turned into a sharp pinch as he grasped her shoulder tightly and grabbed her hand with his free one. "Stop it! Take it back, right now!" he demanded.  
  
"Why?!" she demanded. "You liked her best, didn't you?!" Unshed tears made her voice thick.  
  
"That doesn't make sense! She was you! And she wasn't a demon either!" Tenchi said stoutly. "She was an innocent who was abused and angry, but she still was wonderful and we all loved her despite her troubles." He knew they were different, but in the ways that counted, they were the same.  
  
A new tear dripped down Ryoko's cheek. "But – but…."  
  
Tenchi loosened his grip. "If you talk badly about her, then you are really talking badly about yourself," he said. "She isn't locked up inside of you, that part of you is gone forever."  
  
Ryoko wiped away her tear and looked at him intensely. "You sound sad, Tenchi. Do you miss her?"  
  
Tenchi thought about that and a painful yearning gripped him, but he couldn't say the truth without hurting this Ryoko.  
  
"You do," Ryoko breathed.   
  
"She was my friend," Tenchi said simply.  
  
Ryoko tugged on his shirt. "I'm your friend too, Tenchi, even if I'm not her. Is that enough for you?"  
  
He smiled at her with moist eyes, knowing what she was trying to ask him. She wanted to be free of his expectations. "It's more than I could ask for," he said honestly. He knew forcing the issue would just scare her away from him. If he wanted things to work out, he would have to be cautious and patient. Fleeting memories of his grandfather teaching him to feed the wild winter birds bread crumbs from his cupped hands sprang into his mind. "I thank you for being my good friend, Ryoko."  
  
"You're welcome," she said, cheering up. "I'm sorry for being so strange, it's just that my emotions are a little wacky right now."  
  
"It's okay, we all understand," Tenchi said. "We all care about you."  
  
"Even if I never become her?" Ryoko asked cautiously.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Tenchi said in a firm voice that brooked no argument. "You are you, and that's a good thing. We are looking forward to who you are becoming," he said, surprised at how true the words were as he spoke them. It was as if he had uncovered a hidden well of understanding, deep with in himself.  
  
"No matter how I look?" Ryoko pressed.  
  
"Especially because of how you look. We just want our friend to be happy." He held the image of his old Ryoko in his mind and kissed her good-bye. From this moment on, he would do his best to live in the present and make the most of what he had, for both of their sakes.  
  
While he had been thinking, Ryoko had been watching him as if she were trying to decide about something. She crept closer then stopped, looking into his eyes. "You really like me for me?"  
  
He nodded a great weight lifting from his shoulders. "I promise."  
  
"Thank you oni-sama," Ryoko murmured, hesitantly scooting the rest of the way towards him and lightly laying her head on his shoulder. "I believe you."  
  
"Big-brother," he thought, his heart falling back into despair. "She calls me big-brother now."   
Stay Tuned!  
  
A/N: Sorry for the prolonged delay on this chapter. My muse went on vacation. It seems she bought a one way ticket out of town. Luckily, Seraphim from MegaTokyo (apologizes to Fred G!) went and recovered her for me. There is something satisfying about having a muse but having to BORROW some else's conscience. ^_^  
  
Hopefully the next chapter will be out shortly. Ta! 


	7. Many Faces of Love

Zero Tolerance  
  
By Diane Long  
  
Chapter Seven: Many faces of Love  
  
The hot sun glared down on the old mountain, and the sky shone a harsh, unrelieved blue with no clouds to soften it. The bamboo groves rustled dryly as weak breezes occasionally stirred their leaves. The cicadas droned on endlessly in complaint, and the cuckoos higher in the mountains occasionally called to one another out of boredom.  
  
Their bodies casting long shadows, Tenchi and Ryoko stood facing each other in the shrine's courtyard. Tenchi wore his typical training uniform of blue sweatpants and a white tee-shirt. Ryoko wore what was once known as her battle uniform, the red and black spandex-like material stretching over her curves like icing on a cake. She had her hair up in a pony-tail and was watching Tenchi closely, her body tense and ready to spring. Looking on from a small distance, Yosho leaned against his jo, looking unruffled in his white dogi jacket and light blue hakama.  
  
Tenchi lunged forward and grabbed Ryoko's wrist. Keeping his weight forward, he waited for her to counter his movement by taking a step back, shifting her own weight, and pushing him over from her center.  
  
Instead she just looked at him blankly, her uniform conducting its own warfare on his senses.  
  
"Ryoko," he hinted under his breath, trying to ignore how she looked in her uniform, "cross step back." He feinted with his own leg to give her the right idea. The puzzled expression on her face was adorable, and Tenchi found he didn't mind just standing there, watching her.  
  
"Right!" she said with a nervous smile and stepped backwards, stiffly jerking Tenchi along with her, mainly because of her strength.  
  
"Relax Ryoko," Yosho instructed. "You may be able to muscle Tenchi around, but a stronger foe will require that you move from your center. That is why I had you leave your gems at home today. You are trying to learn what to do without strength."   
  
Ryoko blew a strand of hair from her lips and glanced down at her empty wrists. "Yes, Sensei."  
  
"Try it again," Yosho said with a wave of his hand.  
  
Chewing on her lip and narrowing her eyes, Ryoko took up the ready stance, with 60 percent of her weight balanced on her front foot. She offered her arm to Tenchi and he tried to repeat his earlier grab.  
  
"Wait!" she cried, pulling her arm out of his reach before he could connect. "I wasn't ready!"  
  
Tenchi chuckled at her antics. Who would have thought that this Ryoko would have no martial training what-so-ever. He had always thought that Washu had been Ryoko's earliest instructor, but it turned out that Kagato had been her only teacher in that regard. So this Ryoko was starting from scratch.  
  
"Teeenchi!" Ryoko whined, her honey-alto making even that tone of voice pleasant on the ear. "Don't laugh at me! Give me a chance to set up this time." Again she placed her self in the ready stance.  
  
"Ready?" he asked, trying not to notice how the black designs on her uniform seemed to draw attention to her breasts.  
  
She nodded with a look of fierce concentration and her eyes tracked Tenchi's hand as he grabbed her wrist. "Okay, I step back," she whispered, "and turn." She matched the words to actions, taking Tenchi with her in a wide circle.  
  
"Hey, that was better!" he encouraged. She had moved him quite well. He could already tell that even without her gems, she would be a powerful fighter once she gained some technique.  
  
She frowned and shook his hand off of her wrist. "You were just being nice."  
  
Tenchi just shrugged. She always thought he was taking it easy on her, even when he wasn't. True he often cut her more slack than the others, but he just couldn't seem to help it. "Come on now, it's your turn to attack me," he said with an encouraging wink. He readied his stance and offered his arm.  
  
Grinning like a bandit, Ryoko bypassed his arm and tackled him. "Grrrrrrr!"  
  
Completely caught off guard, he staggered backwards and tumbled to the ground, with her riding his chest all the way down, her nimble fingers finding his most ticklish spots. "Hey! Stop!" he gasped between laughs.  
  
"ENOUGH!" Yosho said in a voice edged with ice.  
  
Ryoko froze immediately and looked up at her teacher, her eyes wide with shock at his tone.  
  
Yosho pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger then crossed his arms. "Ryoko. This is a serious undertaking, and I expect you to treat it with more respect."  
  
Ryoko wilted under the master's gaze and words. She hung her head and crawled off of Tenchi, sitting in seiza beside him, eyes hidden by her long bangs and her hands clasped in her lap.  
  
"Your mother is concerned about your problems with balance and coordination and I have promised her that I would help you," Yosho continued sternly. "You know this, correct?"  
  
Ryoko nodded, curling further into herself.  
  
"Do you want me to break my promise?" Yosho asked coolly.   
  
Ryoko sniffed and shook her head. "N-no, Sensei," she quavered in a small voice.  
  
"Then you must take this seriously and behave like you would in any class. Do you understand?" Yosho asked, moving to stand before her, blocking the sun so she sat in his shadow.  
  
Ryoko nodded sharply. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Then prove it by carrying forty buckets of water from the garden down below to the shrine's garden, two full buckets at a time," Yosho said, glancing towards the mouth of the staircase.  
  
"Yes, sir," she whispered, visibly wincing at her punishment, rubbing at her gem-less wrist with her thumb.  
  
Tenchi followed her movement and clucked lowly under his breath as he remembered she was without her power source.   
  
"Tenchi and I will be waiting in the office for you to finish. When you are done we can continue your training. Tenchi, come," Yosho said.  
  
Tenchi looked to his grandfather, wondering if that punishment wasn't a bit too harsh. Forty buckets? Twenty trips up those stairs? "Jii-chan…." he began in a whisper.  
  
Looking down at Tenchi, the older man cocked an eye brow that wordlessly asked his grandson if he might also like to cart water up all those steps.   
  
Tenchi quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't end up making things harder on Ryoko.  
  
"Ryoko, take care not to drip. I will check when you are finished and every drop on the stairs will mean an extra set of buckets," Yosho clarified.  
  
"Yes, sir," she murmured, tears in her voice.  
  
Yosho turned and made his way towards his office. "Come," he said as he passed Tenchi.  
  
Tenchi sighed and placed a comforting hand on Ryoko's shoulder. She sniffed, but did not look up. "I'm sorry Tenchi."  
  
"It's okay," he assured, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll see you later." He left her side, letting her have some privacy to pull her self back together. Like her old self, she didn't like to let other's see her tears. The only difference now was that she cried more freely, even if she tried to hide it. Sad movies summoned tears for her with regularity, and even a poignant TV commercial had once left her sniffing.  
  
Tenchi shook his head. If she cried more than before, she certainly laughed even more. She laughed when she was surprised, amused, mildly embarrassed, and sometimes seemingly for the pure joy of it. Some days he could hear her laughter echoing down the mountain side while he worked the fields.  
  
Tenchi paused at the door to the shrine office and removed his shoes. Ryoko was so sensitive, felt things so strongly. It was like the center of her being was a bottomless well of emotion. Getting to know her this way never ceased to awe him. To think this had once all been crushed and worn away made his stomach hurt. He couldn't bear to ponder the specifics of what had been done to deaden such a spirit.  
  
"Are you coming in or not?" Yosho inquired from where he knelt by his desk, setting out tea things.  
  
Tenchi went the rest of the way into the shadowed room. After the bright sun, the relative darkness seemed cool and restful. "Grandpa," he started carefully, "with all respect, wasn't that a little harsh?" Ryoko's shame at her chastisement seemed punishment enough.  
  
Yosho's face remained placid as he poured hot water into a small, ceramic tea pot. "Sit. Have some tea."  
  
Tenchi obediently knelt by the table. He wanted to say more, but knew he might have already said too much. As sensei and sempai, it was Yosho's prerogative to conduct teaching as he saw fit.  
  
Yosho poured pale green tea into two bowl-like cups and set the pot to the side. He took up one cup and blew gently on the steaming liquid.  
  
Tenchi followed suit, trying to glance discreetly through the open door into the shrine courtyard. There was no sign of Ryoko. She must have begun her punishment.  
  
"She will be fine," Yosho stated calmly.  
  
Tenchi took a sip of his tea, pulling the liquid noisily across his tongue, tasting the high notes of the fresh flavor at the back of his throat. If he wanted his grandfather to talk he would have to wait him out. Yosho would happily let Tenchi fill the silence while contributing nothing himself. So Tenchi waited in silence.  
  
"Even without her gems, she is very strong. You know this," Yosho said into his cup of tea.  
  
Tenchi nodded, looking carelessly out the door. Ryoko was strong physically, but her heart was fragile. She had been very embarrassed. He worried about how strongly she felt her emotions when it came to the negative ones. She might be depressed for the rest of the day.  
  
Yosho sighed, and shook the cup so the tea swirled just below the rim. "Being a good teacher means knowing the proper lesson to teach."  
  
Tenchi looked more directly at his grandfather. He had not been expecting this vein of discussion.  
  
"Someday soon, you will be a teacher, Tenchi. When that happens, you will need to look at your student and decide what they need to learn. When a student needs to know many things, you must decide in what order to teach them." Yosho took a loud drink of tea, emptying his cup. He looked into Tenchi's eyes for a bare moment. "Would you give a beginning Kendo student steel or wood first?"  
  
"Wood," Tenchi said firmly without taking a moment to think.  
  
"Wrong. Have you learned nothing from me?" Yosho asked with a frown. "First one would teach them basic stance and footwork, then weaponless katas. The wooden sword comes much later."  
  
Tenchi smiled wryly. He had been tricked again. Multiple choice questions with his grandfather often did not present all possible answers. He really needed to take his time when answering those questions. "I see."  
  
Yosho grunted in mild disgust. "Do you? Then, tell me how this applies to our young Ryoko?"  
  
Tenchi's smile grew at that turn of phrase. Even though her body had grown back up, her innocence still made them all think of her as a young girl. "So, she is not ready to do training with us?"  
  
Yosho rolled his eyes. "She is training, right now, as we speak."  
  
Tenchi picked up on the clue. Hadn't his grandfather mentioned that Washu wanted Yosho to help with Ryoko's balance and coordination? "You have her carrying water in both hands to help her balance?" he hazarded.  
  
"There is hope for you after all," Yosho said dryly. "Yes, that is why I told her not to drip."  
  
"So it's not a punishment then?"  
  
Yosho rubbed his chin. "The best lessons often teach more than one thing at a time. She needs to learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not. That is why there will be twenty trips instead of five or ten."  
  
"Hmmm," Tenchi murmured, not agreeing that her behavior had been so inappropriate.  
  
Yosho chuckled, picking up on Tenchi's discontent. "You are biased. Think: What would have happened to you if you had ever dared behave as such around me?"  
  
Tenchi's eyes widened as thoughts of smacking slaps from the flat side of a bokken came to mind.  
  
"Exactly. While you required bruises to learn, Ryoko has had enough of that in her life, don't you think?" Yosho asked, his eyes half-closed.  
  
Thinking of Ryoko's past, and in particular how she had been put into the cave by his grandfather, Tenchi could understand why Yosho would be reluctant to cause Ryoko unneeded physical pain. He looked to his grandfather and nodded his understanding.  
  
Later, as dusk was settling about the mountain in saturated shades of purple and blue, Tenchi found Ryoko kneeling on the stairs. She had changed out of her uniform and was wearing a blue and white patterned cotton yukata tied with a muted yellow obi. Her hair was down again, tumbling about her head in a series of untamed spikes. He liked how she looked when she wore traditional garments. On closer inspection, Tenchi noticed she was trying to hide a damp spot with a layer of fine dirt and leaves. He thought back to his grandfather's words. Hiding the drips wasn't the point of today's exercise. "Ryoko!" he called, his voice thick with disappointment.  
  
She straightened up and gave a guilty laugh, trying to hide her deceit with her zori as she rubbed her hands together. "Uh! Hey there, Tenchi."  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked sternly.  
  
"Ummm…." she looked to her shoe and back to him, biting her lip. "I'm… uh… just standing here. Boy, am I tired after all of that!" Her dirty hands sneaked behind her back.  
  
He crossed his arms. "Ryoko. It's not nice to lie."  
  
She flushed and looked away. "Oh." She dragged her foot across the pile of leaves and dirt and exposed the splash.  
  
"Why did you lie to me?" Tenchi asked, wishing she hadn't.   
  
She looked back to him, her eyes glinting in the light of the rising moon. "I was tired," she whined. "It took me forever to carry all of that water up there. I don't want to do another trip."   
  
"Is it worth your honor to escape another set of carrying?" he asked gently, wanting her to really understand why it was wrong to lie. She used to lie so easily. He didn't want her to go back to that.  
  
A lightning bug buzzed around her head, flashing its glowing fire as it alighted in a bush that grew alongside the stairs. Ryoko held her finger out to it as she considered, her brow furrowing into a frown. "Of course it's not." She gave up on the insect and came closer to him and looked him in the eye. "Why do you have to be like that?"  
  
He swallowed, her closeness making him uneasy. As much as he was falling into the role of big bother and protector, he still couldn't help reacting to her physical presence. It made him feel guilty when his body yearned for her. "Like what?"  
  
"So noble." She tapped the tip of his nose with her index finger. "Like you never tried to get out of a chore."  
  
It was his turn to flush. "Well, that's different." She always found him out. He should have known better than to get sanctimonious with her. Now he felt foolish.  
  
She stepped back and put her hands on her hips. "Oh is it now?" She laughed merrily. "I love it when you go all big-brotherly on me. 'Is your honor worth it?'" she parroted.  
  
"Hey!" he protested, fighting to hold the upper-hand. "Show your sempai a little respect!"  
  
"Okay Sempai, listen to this! 'Honor is in what you do, not what you say', " she quoted, trying to sound wise, but failing because she was still laughing, with little giggles punctuating each word.  
  
Giving up, he rubbed his forehead and laughed with her. "And where did you hear that?"  
  
"My mom," she said importantly. "Who also said 'lies are just a different perspective of the truth'."  
  
"She said that?" Tenchi groaned, thinking that perhaps he and his grandfather were taking on too big of a battle.  
  
"Tenchi, we are only working on her balance, not her morals," Yosho said coming down the stairs towards him.  
  
"Hi, Grandpa!" Ryoko said sunnily, her foot once again covering the wet spot.  
  
"Good evening," Yosho said with a smile. "Are you finished?" His eyes went to her little shoe then skipped away as if he hadn't noticed anything.  
  
"Yes!" she beamed, flashing her most charming smile.  
  
"Very good. Tomorrow we will pick up where we left off," Yosho said continuing down the stairs.  
  
"But Grandpa, she…." Tenchi began, feeling the need to set the record straight. He had to set a good example.  
  
"Are you ratting me out?" Ryoko asked in disbelief. "I can't believe it."  
  
Yosho didn't stop his descent. "No one likes a tattletale, Tenchi. You can do the remaining trip for Ryoko if you are so concerned with it."  
  
Ryoko's laugh rang out into the growing shadows, only just covering the sound of Tenchi's squawk of disbelief.  
  
***  
  
Night-time, as it nestled around the remote countryside, had a deep blackness to it, almost like the bottom of the sea. With no street lamps the darkness was absolute and seemed to contain countless spirits moving with motions of the night breezes. Tenchi's body jerked as he awoke suddenly, feeling eyes upon him. He squinted into the pale light cast by the digital display of his bed-side alarm clock. Hovering over him, her features bathed in the eerie green glow, was Ryoko. She pulled back as he sat up scratching his tousled head.  
  
"Ryoko?" he yawned, confused by the sight of her in her once favorite position. Had the whole Zero thing been a dream? Would Ryoko try to climb into bed and have her wicked way with him? He rubbed his eyes and looked into her face as his heart beat sped up in anticipation.  
  
"T- Tenchi?" she began, hugging herself and maintaining her distance. "I had a bad dream."  
  
He let out a yawn as he came more fully awake. She hovered a respectful distance away in a modest pink night gown and was faintly trembling. Her eyes darted around as if she were making sure the room was secure. This was no revisit of the past. Here was his Ryoko, frightened and needing his help. His heart resumed a more typical pace, but he found the need to mound the blankets over his lap to hide his body's reaction to seeing her above him.  
  
"I'm sorry for coming into your room," she said into the silence. "I just… well…" She picked at the lace ruffle going around the neck of the gown. "I…"  
  
"That's okay," he said kindly.  
  
Ryoko touched down and stood on the edge of the area rug, her pink cabbit slippers sticking their tongues out at Tenchi from her feet. "I couldn't tell mom. She is locked into one of the deeper labs. She even cut off the link," she said shyly, clearly needing to explain her presence in his room.  
  
"She cut the link?" Tenchi asked with surprise. Given their past, he had doubted Washu would ever truly let Ryoko out of her 'sight'.  
  
Ryoko nodded, the fear slowly leaving her eyes as they spoke of normal things. "She does that when she is working on something very dangerous and doesn't dare have any distractions."  
  
Tenchi nodded, folding his hands over his lap, just be safe. Even a modest night gown was tempting on someone like Ryoko. He could almost see details beneath the thin fabric. "So, want to talk about your dream?" He squashed down his lecherous thoughts. After all, she had come to him for protection. He couldn't let his body's reaction to her be noticeable, or it would frighten her. That was the last thing he wanted. They had been growing so close. To have her coming to him like this was proof that she trusted him. He couldn't blow this.  
  
Ryoko let her eyes drift away. "Not really." A note of distrust had slipped into her voice.  
  
"Why not?" he asked sounding hurt. "You know you can talk to me."  
  
"It's stupid, really," she said pulling a foot out of a slipper and digging her toes into the rug.  
  
"I can tell you were scared," he coaxed. "That makes it important."  
  
"Mmmm," she hummed, looking at him out of the corner of a big yellow eye. "Promise not to laugh?"  
  
"Cross my heart," he promised, patting the edge of his bed in invitation. "Come here."  
  
"Okay, Tenchi." She slipped her foot back into the slipper and padded closer and alighted on the edge of the bed. She reached for one of his hands and took it into both of hers. "Promise?"  
  
Tenchi gulped as her hand came so close to his lap. His cheeks flushed under the cover of darkness. "P-promise."  
  
"Okay," Ryoko said with a squeeze of his hand. "In my dream I was outside of my house. Not the part that interfaces with the lab, but the part in the other dimension, the one that interfaces with an M- class planet and has a yard." She looked to him to see if he was following.  
  
He nodded and squeezed her hands back. The touch of her skin and sounds of her soft alto whispering to him in the darkness made it harder to control his body. The night made them seem protected from the rest of the world, like anything was possible. He could almost convince himself that kissing her would be alright.   
  
"That side of the house has a big glass front door. It's clear so you can see inside the front hall," Ryoko explained. "I tried to open the door, but it was locked."  
  
"You couldn't open the door?" Tenchi asked, mentally shaking his head and trying to focus on the task at hand.  
  
"No, not at all. When I looked in through the door, I noticed all of the art was gone. All of mom's favorite paintings and the big sculpture by the door." Ryoko pulled her hands away and clasped them in her lap, her voice raising pitch as she spoke faster. "I ran around to all of the windows on the first floor and looked inside. Everything was gone! The furniture, the rugs, the plants! All of it!" She made a small sound of distress. "Do you know what the worst part was?"  
  
"What?" he asked, his heated feelings cooled by her obvious distress. "What was it?"  
  
"When I went back to the front door Mom was standing inside, but she wouldn't let me in. When I asked her why, she asked me who I was. She didn't know me!" Ryoko blew out a large breath if air and released Tenchi's hand, staring down at her fingers. "She –she told me to leave," she whispered.  
  
Tenchi carefully slipped an arm around Ryoko's shoulders, watchful to make sure she was alright with the contact. He wanted to comfort her, not frighten her further. "Then you woke up?" he asked, thinking back to Ryoko's old nightmares of mayhem and destruction. She used to wake him up with her tortured screams almost weekly. If these milder dreams of confusion and disorder were the worst of her dreams now, then every bit of difficulty her change had caused him was worth it.  
  
Ryoko leaned into his shoulder, tilting her head so her spiky hair wouldn't tickle his nose. "Yes." She was quiet for a moment then laughed softly. "It sounds so stupid when I tell it, but it really was scary."  
  
Tenchi tightened his hold on her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. That's why it's good to talk about dreams. Something about saying them out loud steals their power."   
  
Ryoko relaxed, letting her weight rest fully on him, sighing sleepily. She raised her arms and draped them around his neck in a light hug. "Mmmm. You're right." She yawned hugely as she snuggled closer, burying her face in his neck. "Now I'm all sleepy."  
  
Soft. Warm. Round. Those adjectives danced through Tenchi's mind as Ryoko made her self comfortable against his body. This was the way she had felt when she would glomp onto him on those mornings so long ago now. He hadn't appreciated it then, but now he reveled in it. She smelled faintly of vanilla and brown sugar too. She was a fresh baked sugar cookie and he wanted to gobble her up. "Ryoko," he whispered into the ear that had ended up right by his mouth. "I think you should go back to bed now." His voice sounded strained, even to him.  
  
"Carry me," she insisted, her voice dreamy.  
  
Resisting the urge to nibble on that perfect earlobe so tantalizingly close, Tenchi shifted so she sat up a little, slumping without his support. "You're too big to carry now."  
  
" 'Kay," she murmured, falling back against him bonelessly, a small snore escaping her lips.  
  
"Ryoko?" Tenchi asked shaking her a little. "You didn't fall asleep did you?"  
  
A louder snore was his answer.  
  
"Great," he groaned. He gently laid her down the rest of the way on the bed and watched her sleep. It would be so easy to lean over and brush a small kiss across her lips. She would never know, and he would treasure the sensation forever.  
  
No. That was wrong. She trusted him, and he would not break that trust.  
  
He looked at her more closely. Her face was perfectly relaxed, her mouth slightly open with the first signs of drool pooling in the corner. She looked so sweet and trusting. Feeling guilty about even considering taking advantage of her, Tenchi carefully removed her slippers and made sure her head rested comfortably on a pillow. Drawing the comforter over her tempting curves, he chastised himself for thinking about her that way. She trusted him, thought of him as a protector, came to him when she needed comfort.  
  
He didn't deserve her. Not at all.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said reaching over to brush a lock of hair out of her face.  
  
At the sound of his voice, she let out a sleep-filled moan and sighed his name, sounding as if she yearned for him as much as he yearned for her.  
  
Groaning, Tenchi stood up and backed away. Staying here any longer was a bad, bad idea. He grabbed a free pillow and beat a quick retreat to the living room. Perhaps the hard cushions of the couch would help him reach a purer state of mind.  
  
Being her brother was the sweetest agony he had ever known.  
  
To be continued….  
  
A/N: Hi all. Thanks for the great reviews. That is about all that is keeping me going on this one, so you can thank yourself for getting another chapter out. Real life has become even more busy than usual for me, and I hardly have the time or energy to write fiction anymore. However, I like to finish what I start, so I have every intention of taking this to completion. So please stay tuned, even if there are big gaps between chapters. I get to this as I can. Big smooches go out to you all.  
  
Also, here is the skinny on Ryoko's dream. Some psychologists say to dream of looking into an empty house, particularly when it is one's own house, means that one is looking into themselves. It is an issue of searching for identity. Suits our young Ryoko, ne? 


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